• In Germany there is a thriving 'nature-garden' movement

• German nature-gardens are seen as places to experience nature.

• Planting schemes generally concentrate on plant species that are found wild in central Europe.

Nature-experience area at Herzogenaurach school
Nature-experience area at Bersenbrück school
Public open space beside a road using 'close to nature' planting
Private nature-garden in Germany.

In Germany, the Naturgarten eV ('Nature-garden Association')  is a membership organisation founded in 1990. They mainly use the wild flora of of west and central Europe as the raw material for designing gardens.

The Association's members tend to hold the view that their gardens should be designed to be a place to experience nature, to remedy the deficit in such experience felt by many modern urban dwellers, and so 'naturalism' in design tends to be a prominent feature, as well as choosing plant species to attract wildlife.

Some members specialise in designing 'nature- experience' areas around schools. A combination of wildlife garden and adventure playground, These are far more ambitious in scope than any school garden I have seen in the UK. See illustrations on the left.

For further illustrations go to the website of Naturgartenvielfalt  and click on the menu item Beispiele.

Last updated July 2022. All images on this page Copyright © Kerstin Luechow.

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