Consciously and unconsciously fascinated by the plants

Our polder site in Spengen is special. Harder elements like stone, wood, and steel are combined with greenery in a unique way, constantly changing through the seasons. It’s also fascinating for photographers, who are artists who create their own inspiring images.

I see visitors amazed here; wandering around at their own pace, meditating and enjoying what they encounter. Just de-stressing, letting go. Walking, experiencing, always a different story that you don’t need to know.

Stimulating the senses
At first glance, the plants seem merely as a decor, but the greenery plays a leading role, allowing you to see more closely, to experience more. You feel nature here; you hear and see the birds, butterflies, bees, dragonflies, and bumblebees pecking the seeds, sucking in the nectar, and feasting on the insects. The blooms, the scent. The berries and the hips—everything stimulates the senses! The plants are alive and surprising, delightful, pure beauty.

Stone, Steel, and Wood Sculptures
Among the plants lie the stone, steel, or wood sculptures. Sometimes hidden, other times prominent. Sometimes similarities and sometimes contrasts with the greenery, but always together. You experience the connection between the sculpture and the greenery. Together, reinforcing each other as in a beautiful piece of music.

In the garden, plants, besides their function (shelter from the wind, shade, privacy), also accompany specific places like an entrance.

A Green Entrance Design
I find designing entrances very challenging. For a house, for example, from the outside in. The entrance begins from the street. The house stands out first, and then the entrance with its greenery. At an entrance, you often hold back a bit and are curious.

The architect has created a unique, powerful entrance. In the garden, this is not emphasized but rather left loose. As you walk towards it, the entrance draws you in, and the casual planting surprises you.

In the garden, you also experience entrances, walking from one ambiance to the next. A passageway in a hedge, a wall, or perhaps a fence posts. If it’s a transition to another space, an entrance feels and is different. Below, a “threshold” , an imprint of wood and concrete in the grass, makes you slow down and enter the next green space. Often, a tree is indispensable here, just the trunk alone.

Height differences are also excellent opportunities to give the plants a supporting or more prominent role. When you look at the image of the height difference from different distances, it always changes. As a designer, you also consider that walking up and down the stairs or slope also has a conscious/unconscious tactile experience.

The stairs below are a strong visual element, accompanied by low grasses. Below that, the hedges on the slope, which you walk between. The stairs are somewhat hidden among the low grasses. The hedges themselves create the image.

You experience the connection between the image and the greenery, even without a function. Below, the reeds act as a transparent filter for the concrete beam. In spring, the reeds emerge from the water as light green arrows, with the concrete beam as a backdrop. The reeds then grow thicker and thicker, and the beam disappears behind it. In autumn, the beam slowly becomes visible again among the dying, sandy-colored reeds. A beautiful winter landscape for four months, the festivities begin again at the end of March. Together, the reeds and the concrete beam form a living sculpture.

The ornamental rhubarb and concrete bowl are the focal point here, at the entrance to the next green space. The crooked trunks of the sweetgum trees interplay with the poles and pillars behind them. Above, the branches of the group of sweetgum trees intertwine, creating a canopy that turns an enchanting yellow-red in autumn. Three fragile, solitary grasses form a ground cover around the bowl. A fantastic image, a transition to another green space.

Zoom in and out
A well-designed planting is harmonious, regardless of the season. Plants play a visual role, both individually and together, allowing you to zoom in and out, consciously and unconsciously.