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    • The garden designer Peter Berg from Sinzig shows in a workshop how dry walls are created

    Sinzig. “The most important part of my training is my own garden, which has always been my experimental field, source of inspiration and strength,” says Peter Berg. The Sinziger is a garden designer known far beyond the borders. He is regarded as an undisputed master of the modern European rock garden, as an experienced expert who juggles with rock and leaves plenty of room for the world of plants.

    Nature, aesthetics, design are the world of the 62-year-old garden designer, who combines rough stone work with filigree planting techniques. Throughout Europe, Berg is on the move to pass on his expertise, which has long since penetrated the furthest corners of the continent. Now he invited them to his home. A five-day workshop was held in his home garden. Landscapers from Ireland, Austria, Northern Germany, Saxony and Bavaria came to learn in practice and theory how stone masterpieces can be created on a slope.

    Peter Berg and his team of twelve had meticulously prepared the seminar. After all, the aim was not only to teach 18 workshop participants something, but also to make their stay in Westum pleasant. Some garden professionals came with basic knowledge and wanted to develop professionally, others had travelled privately to learn something for their own garden design.

    Berg has laid out seven terraces on its 3000 square metre hillside property, which are connected by more than one hundred steps. Wine once grew there, today there are small viewing plateaus on the slope, seating areas with shelters, fireplaces, vegetable gardens and flower beds. Perennials and grasses provide additional eye-catchers.

    The difference in height between Berg’s house and the end of the property is 40 metres. It takes a certain amount of courage to design such a site as a garden. For more than three decades, Berg has been active on his local mountain. Especially complex: stabilizing the soil.

    The man from Sinzig, who laid the ground by hand at the Federal Horticultural Show in Koblenz or at the NRW State Horticultural Show in Zülpich and was also responsible for the Japanese garden landscape at the Arp Museum, uses graywacke and slate from the Moselle to build dry walls that are supposed to withstand the earth’s masses. These walls are up to one meter thick. The stones are piled up artfully, gaps are closed with native plants. In the quarry, Berg chooses the material that he will later use. Layer by layer is placed on top of each other, stone by stone is interlocked.

    Berg shows his guests how this works in the workshop. One is visibly impressed there. It is hammered, cut to size, stacked and wrought. Berg gives tips, points out mistakes and gives advice on how to create a safe dry wall that is not threatened by collapse. “You only learn when you practice,” he says to the course participants, who gathered on one of the many viewing platforms after work to toast to what they had learned: Peter Berg had invited to the wine tasting.

    Article in the General-Anzeiger, Friday, July 5, 2019
    Author: Victor Francke / Photos: Gausmann

     

    This year’s German economic competition “Grand Prix of Medium-Sized Businesses”, organized by the Oskar Patzelt Foundation in Leipzig, has the motto “Sustainable management”.
    The non-prized competition has been held since 1994 and is taking place for the 25th time this year. Of the 5,399 previously nominated small and medium-sized companies, 758 made it to the second round on the so-called jury list and thus qualified for the jury’s decision. The company GartenLandschaft Berg from Sinzig-Westum is one of them.
    The motivation of sustainable management is firmly anchored in its corporate philosophy and contributes from the outset to the economic success of the gardening and landscaping business. In the last six years alone, long-lived grasses and shrubs have been planted on approx. 30,000 square metres. In addition approx. 12,000 to 15,000 shrubs and woody plants. This alone is an enormous contribution to species diversity in the insect and bird world.
    Peter Berg also attaches great importance to a high quality standard in all areas of the company: “As a small manufactory, we have always dealt with quality management. From Prof. Dr. Jörg Knoblauch, who has won the Ludwig-Ehrhard-Prize with his company Drillbox, we have learned to constantly work on improvement”, the managing director states.
    A total of 12 regional juries will decide in the coming weeks who will be honoured as a finalist, as a prizewinner or with a special prize. It remains exciting. But regardless of the outcome of the competition “Grand Prix of Medium-Sized Businesses” – GartenLandschaft Berg continues to devote all its passion to the topic of sustainability and the connection between man and nature in aesthetic design.

    With the arrival of spring, the passion to create and shape awakens in every garden lover. Who is not happy about a little inspiration? Or a lot of inspiration.not happy about a little inspiration? Or a lot of inspiration.That’s why we’re giving away 3 copies of Peter Berg’s latest book “Natur. Aesthetics. Design”.

    To take part in the raffle:

    Closing date: Monday, 15.04.19 – 9:00 am – CET.

    Among all those who link and comment on the above mentioned article on instagram, we will determine the 3 winners by drawing lots on Monday, 15.04.2019. The winners will be informed by private message and announced on Instagram.

    Conditions of entry see link in Bio: The competition is not related to Instagram and is in no way sponsored, supported or organized by Instagram. Participation in the contest is subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein. By participating, the entrant expressly acknowledges these terms and conditions. As far as personal data of participants are collected in the context of the competition, these will be collected, processed and used by the organizer exclusively for the purpose of carrying out the competition, and deleted after the end of the competition. The participant expressly agrees to this.

    …is the citeria, which most garden owners or those, who want to become one, value highly. Whoever has the opportunity here in Germany wants to own a piece of nature, to enjoy a place “outside”. But it should not do any work, since one would like to recover after the deed is done. But in England this is different. People there love gardening and can obviously relax by caring for their beds and cutting their roses. “In this country the value of gardening as a balance to everyday life is still too little recognised”, garden designer Peter Berg has observed.

    A garden is a piece of living nature that cannot do without a certain amount of care. An easy-care design is possible, as Peter Berg has already shown in countless projects, but never a carefree one. “It is always a pity when customers are given false promises,” explains Berg. Even on surfaces that have been covered with foil and gravel, nature manages to reconquer them after not too long. Wild herbs are always brought in from the surrounding land or landscape and blossom. Attempts to remove them here often end with the destruction of the foil. Berg recommends gravel surfaces – then with an underlying gravel layer – only for parking spaces or garage entrances.

    Blooming gardens are much more pleasing to the eye, but require a well thought-out concept. If you work sustainably, with long-lasting shrubs and grasses and clear separation of different areas by walls or borders, you get a functioning garden. Generously sized grass-perennial areas have a major maintenance advantage over small lawns. Once a year they are cut down and a little weed plucked in between. The laborious weekly mowing does not take place.

    A further aspect of the easy-care design is the slowly growing large trees and shrubs. They cover large areas, provide shade and even become more valuable over time. Explosively growing woody plants are not advisable, as the maintenance effort is often considerably higher. The correct location as well as a professional cut are to be considered absolutely. Otherwise the woody plants will grow back uncontrollably.

    In order to keep the expenditure low two things are important. Pluck weeds before it sprouts and trim hedges once or twice a year and cut trees. “It’s all a matter of adjustment,” says Berg. “I’d rather spend two hours in the garden than one hour in the gym.” A statement worth thinking about.

    Let yourself be inspired by our loving private garden projects!

    One topic that is now becoming increasingly important is the so-called “forest bathing”. This means consciously staying in the forest in order to specifically influence health and mind. In Japan, this has been scientifically investigated for decades. Research has shown that “Shinrin Yoku” or “Forest Therapy” has a positive influence on stress factors, the immune system up to slowed tumor growth.

    In Germany, people are now led into the forest in groups as well. The aim is to absorb nature with all our senses. To feel the power of a tree and the calm that it emmits or to listen to the sound of a stream. The essential oils produced by the trees, the terpenes, cause the increased production of white blood cells in our body. Germs and cancer cells are combated. Fungal spores and soil bacteria, which are absorbed via the air, additionally strengthen our immune system.

    A good approach. But who has the possibility to go for a walk in the forest every day as advised? This is where your own garden comes into play. “Gardens are retreats in an increasingly hectic world,” notes Peter Berg. After an exhausting everyday life, you long for peace and relaxation. A place in the house’s own green is ideal. Properly laid out, the garden is a real alternative to the forest. The right colour concept is important for the design. “My colour design is based on the colours that are most frequently given by nature,” explains Berg. Green in combination with the colours of the sky – white, grey, blue – give the eye oft he beholder the most peace of mind. A harmonious overall picture can only be captured if strong contrasts are avoided.

    If the design is supplemented by skilfully used woody plants you have a natural shade dispenser at the resting place as well as the calming and invigorating effect of the trees. If there is still the possibility of a flowing or splashing water element, nothing stands in the way of deep relaxation.

    Let yourself be inspired, for example by this wonderful private garden on the Moselle.

    For the garden designer Peter Berg the turn of the year was a time of reflection on the past 12 months and, at the same time, of focusing on what lies ahead of him in the coming year. New plans take shape and therefore he consciously seeks the inspiration he finds outside: “The closer you are to nature, the more harmonious the result of your own work becomes”.

    He has also used the quiet time between the years to intensively study the works of Prince Pückler Muskau, Russell Page and Capability Brown. Peter Berg not only wants to design simple house gardens, but also to create a lasting legacy. We can look forward to the projects that will come into being in 2019!

     

    We are pleased about this very nice article in the current DEGA GALABAU 12/2018. The author Verena Groß reports here about the garden landscape by Berg & Co. GmbH for the Arp Museum on the current exhibition “Im Japanfieber”. The show garden was created especially for this exhibition and can be viewed there until autumn 2019.

    To the article

    “A good eye and trained senses are indispensable prerequisites for aesthetic garden design. With his philosophy, Peter Berg pursues a very special approach: his gardens should be sustainable and natural – which is ensured above all by the use of natural stone. They should be reduced to just a few materials, radiate a soothing calm – even in the choice of colours – and meet the individual needs of their owners. This concept has created unique gardens whose fascination lies in the clarity of their design. The garden designer presents the most beautiful gardens in his inspiring lecture.

    Peter Berg grew up in the vineyard region of Rhineland-Palatinate and is fascinated by dry-stone landscapes. His core competences lie in dealing with hillsides and the special use of plant combinations in combination with natural stone. Inspiring excursions led the landscape gardener to Ireland and Japan. For the third time he has been awarded the TASPO Award as Garden Designer of the Year. His new book “Natur. Aesthetics. Design” was published by DVA in 2018.”

    Click here to register.

    Last tuesday the team from GartenLandschaft Berg & Co. GmbH invited for an exclusive tour through the Arp Museum. The special thing about it was that the tour took place outside the regular opening hours of the museum.

    Afterwards Dr. Margot Gumppenberg and Dr. Susanne Blöcker from the Arp Museum took the time to share about the history of the museum, the present exhibition as well as the architectur of the new building extension. It was a wonderful and extraordinary evening rounded of by a delicious dinner at the restaurant interieur no. 253.

    Of course we brought some impressions – with japanese music too.

     

    A warm invitation to all designers of private gardens to join this workshop by garden designer Peter Berg on the 28th of January 2019 in Echterdingen. For details and registration see PDF.