View of the water – hillside garden on the Moselle

The sloped banks along the Moselle make it an ideal region for growing wine. However, the terrain is often a challenge for houses and gardens, especially when the property slopes in all directions. Only a good overarching concept can harmoniously bring together a pool, seating and barbecue areas in a sloped garden. To design a garden on this difficult terrain, that would complement the house, architect Peter Hilmes turned to Peter Berg.

Grauer Basalt wertet das Grün der Pflanze auf.

Harmonious garden design: the unity of water, stone and plants

Today, the garden has three levels: one behind the house, one for the pool and another below which leads to the woods. In between, there are various places that can be used for barbecues. Rocks placed by Daniel Berg play a crucial role: instead of forming an embankment, they create a transition from the terrace to the lawn, the pool level is framed with stones that can also be used as steps. Growing in between are blue bellflowers and prairie dropseed, Balkan clary and scaly male fern, as well as artichokes planted by the owners themselves. There is plenty of room for woody plants on this property, so the homeowners and the designer went to a nursey to select tulip and trumpet trees, a ginkgo and Persian ironwood, as well as honey locust trees and eastern hemlock. By taking part in the planting, the owners’ personal relationship with their garden deepened.