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.
Gräser vermitteln Leichtigkeit und Bewegung.
Trittsteine machen Staudenflächen begehbar.
Project details
Garden dimensions
2400m2 in total
Stone structure
350 tonnes basalt lava rocks
Planting area
580m2
Stone placement
Daniel Berg
Architect
Peter and Stephan Hilmes
Other garden designs with a pool to explore
A city garden where you can breathe deeply
The goal for this beautiful city garden was to create something small and perfectly formed – an oasis for our client. The design concept was centred around the existing, beloved trees.
A complex design involving plants of varying heights helped shield this patch of nature from its surroundings, making it appear as large as possible.
Greywacke was chosen as the natural stone. This garden project was all about being environmentally friendly – sustainability through natural, durable and value enhancing materials.
Due to the number of existing and new woody plants, there are now always shady spots in the garden. The temperature is, therefore, pleasant even at the height of summer. The fine dust from the urban environment is also wonderfully captured by the plants and does not get into the house.
Impressively sized rhododendron
Greywacke, the natural stone of the city garden
Sustainability with a focus on the garden
“This project is an example of how to successfully upgrade urban spaces with lots of greenery. Our client chose not to build a new house with a large underground garage, instead renovating the older house and, through our garden design, gave the existing trees a new lease of life.”
Peter Berg
Straight paths next to naturally planted beds
Greening a confined space
Large, custom-made anthracite-coloured metal tubs were placed on the sides of the house, to create more room for plants. There were no flower beds. The existing yew hedge was trimmed and shaped, and yew hedges were used in the front garden as a privacy screen and to break up the space.
A green oasis in the city
“A quality of life has been achieved in this place in the city that is rarely found elsewhere.”
Peter Berg
Project details
Garden dimensions
690m2
Natural stone
Greywacke from a regional quarry
Tree nursery
Baumschule Katharina von Ehren
Planting
Combination of beautiful plants and new trees, ferns and perennials
Other projects to explore
A monastery garden for all the senses – design of the Arenberg Monastery park
Since 2015, Peter Berg has been entrusted with redesigning various parts of the monastery’s park. The project is also particularly close to the heart of his business partner, Susanne Förster. In addition to managing the project during construction work, she also enjoys privately visiting the monastery’s vitality centre.
In the areas redesigned by GartenLandschaft, visitors and residents of the monastery are now able to get even closer to nature. New seating was created for the monastery café. Between the rocks, shrubs and trees, these islands have become protected pockets of nature where personal conversations can take place.
Stone steps in the herb garden
Klosteranlage Arenberg, Koblenz
“There was such a special atmosphere during the design of the park at the monastery, and we were able to experience the extremely warm and cosmopolitan hospitality of the Arenberg Dominican sisters.”
Susanne Förster
Café in the park, an island retreat between rocks and plants
Planning of the monastery site in 5 construction phases
Monastery café garden – a place to linger
The boules court is a meeting place, where workshops and events are also held
A selection of the materials used in the monastery garden
Perennials
Phlox, cranesbill, calamint and gaura
Grasses
Tufted hair grass and Miscanthus
Trees
Persian ironwood and pride of India
Natural stone blocks
560 tonnes greywacke
Other projects on a slope to explore
Embedded in the cultural landscape – hillside garden by a vineyard
This hillside garden, which was built in 2018, offers privacy with the bonus of views of the cultural landscape, which peek out from between the rows of vines.
The garden design echoes the straight lines of the architecture. The terrace, herb garden, wooden deck, pool and entrance to the house all have a direct connection to the interior. There is a seamless transition to the wider cultural landscape. Hedges interspersed with wood panels provide privacy from the local hiking trails. Hornbeams, arranged in staggered rows, mimic rows of grapes – a beautiful juxtaposition between ‘open’ and ‘closed’, greenery and wood. A basalt staircase leads to the highest point in the garden. The goal is to sit amid the greenery in the morning sun and look out over the vineyard.
A swimming pool embedded into the garden design
Planning a garden with a pool
Clever thinking was needed to find the right spot for the pool on this steep site next to a vineyard. Placing it behind the house meant it would sit quite high and would need a long concrete retaining wall. Ultimately, it was decided the front garden was the best place. The slope leading down to the street was secured and a solid tub pool was chosen. Rocks and dense planting were placed around the front, while a privacy screen made the space feel more intimate. The addition of trees made the green space look beautiful from the street.
Planning a garden with tall trees and shrubs – the inspiration behind the row of hornbeams came during construction
Basalt terrace – autumnal grasses
Hedge blocks in rows matching the architecture and the adjacent vineyard.
Project details
Location
On the edge of a vineyard
Garden dimensions
950m2
Pool size
12m x 3m
Filter tank
3.4m x 2.2m
Garden design
Peter Berg
Architect
Armin Schmitz BDA
Other gardens on a slope to explore
Grounds of the Arp Museum
Just prior to starting the Arp Museum project, Peter Berg had travelled to Japan where he visited beautiful gardens and parks. Representatives of the European Association of Garden and Landscape Designers travelled to Tokyo and Kyoto where they saw outstanding Japanese garden projects. This trip inspired a design idea that later evolved and emerged in sketches. During the construction phase, Peter Berg did as the Japanese do, which was rely on intuitive decision making – the design was further developed as the garden was built.
“The rock garden is a unique work of art. It is part of the exhibition and not just an illustration,”
says Petra Spielmann, Managing Director of the Arp Museum (2018)
The construction of the Japanese Garden at the Arp Museum was an evolutionary process – Petra Spielmann says about the redesign of the meadow slope, which developed its own striking dynamic. “At first we looked in vain for a loan for the exhibition, a painting by Monet with the well-known motif of a water lily pond with a bridge. For fun we said that if we didn’t get it, we would build a bridge ourselves. Everything else developed around it.”
Japanese garden, the path along the pines
“For Hugo Torii, traditional Japanese horticulture stems from the design of the Kyoto temple garden.”
Japanese master gardener and landscape architect Hugo Torii learned his craft in the traditional gardens of the imperial city of Kyoto. When designing the grounds of the Arp Museum, he worked with Peter Berg in Sinzig. Together, they developed the Japanese garden in front of the museum.
The design of the grounds takes inspiration from elements from the Jodo (Paradise) Garden, including the symmetry of the building and a sophisticated balance in which everything is arranged in relation to one another.
After completing the project, Hugo Torii’s work in Sinzig came to an end. He took up a position as director of the “Portland Japanese Garden ” in the USA.
The exciting combination of maple and pine sets the scene for the museum’s outdoor space
The garden design process
Design
Peter Berg and Hugo Torii
Materials
200 tonnes natural stone basalt rocks
Enough trees to fill 3 semi-trailers (including 13 pines)
Tree nursey
Baum & Bonheur | Die Lappen Baumschule GmbH
Construction period
GartenLandschaft Berg in 2019
Photography
Helmut Reinelt in 2018
Ferdinand Graf Luckner in 2020
Other projects to explore
The nature garden – sustainable design
Nothing was left to chance when planning this nature garden, which has biodiversity and genuine sustainability at its heart. A 1900m² recreational area has been built for the client, which can be enjoyed all year round. A protected space has also been created for wildlife, which is enticed into the space by the wonderful diversity of plants. Only natural stone and plants were used in the garden.
Staudenpflanzung: Petra Pelz
Steinstruktur: Peter Berg
A special garden design collaboration
“The collaboration and joint planning on this project led to an extraordinary symbiosis of architecture and garden. There should be more collaboration in the industry, to harness these synergies.” Petra Pelz and Peter Berg.
Petra Pelz is an expert in perennial and grass compositions – and design, of course. Peter Berg is the expert on slopes. His expertise lies in taming extremes in height with natural stone, perennials and woody plants.
The single-storey wooden house is embedded into the hillside, with the perennials, grasses, woody plants and natural stone helping it become one with the nearby forest.
The treehouse – rooted by its pathway
A stone staircase winds through the nature garden towards the edge of the forest. It leads to an extraordinary treehouse. From here you can enjoy views of the garden and surrounding cultural landscape as far as Hanover. Surrounded by old oaks, the treehouse stands on the edge of the nearby forest.
Architecture and garden – a symbiosis
The garden and architecture are deeply intertwined, having seemingly merged. There are no ‘traditional style’ terraces – the area is planted with hard-wearing ground covering plants and perennials. No open space was overlooked, even the roof of the bungalow is covered with greenery. As the terrain is so steep, you can walk onto the roof from the edge of the forest without ever realising you are standing on the bungalow.
Project details
Garden dimensions
1900m2
Location
Near Hanover
Garden design
Petra Pelz and Peter Berg
Architecture
Andreas Wenning
Click on ‘Overview’ to discover more of our projects
The pool at the heart of the design – Atrium garden in the Ahr valley
When it came to designing the courtyard between the main house and the bungalow at the bottom of the garden, our clients needed to make a few big decisions. The most important was to forego a lawn in favour of a pool, which became the centrepiece of the design. Lined up with the glass front of the bungalow, the water’s reflective surface illuminates the courtyard and inside space. The long and narrow shape is ideal for swimmers, while adding to the overall aesthetic. Surrounded by volcanic basalt rocks and multi-layered planting, there is an endless variety of scenes reflect in its surface which brings a sense of serenity.
Walkway through the atrium garden made of basalt slabs and basalt chippings
Overgrown walkway, pool in the atrium garden and arbour with wild vines
Patio design as a garden
“This is a classic island solution, a true retreat – an inner courtyard where the design is entirely inward facing. Anything that might disturb it is hidden.”
Peter Berg
Swimming pool embedded into the garden design
Project details
Garden design
Peter Berg
Construction
GartenLandschaft
Photography
Ferdinand Graf Luckner
Garden dimensions
600m²
Natural stone
Basalt: raw, sawn and chippings
Selection of plants used
Privet, fountain grass, columnar hornbeams, creeping muhlenbeckia and wisteria
Other projects to explore
A nature garden that sets the stage for the architecture
This is a garden that puts the spotlight on the extravagant architecture so that it can be viewed in its full glory. The unusual residence is shaped like a rectangle with rounded corners. Large windows bring nature indoors. Protruding from between the large basalt stones are characterful trees, which are densely underplanted with grasses, ferns and blue and white perennials: the colours of the sky. The picture changes constantly with the seasons, the time of day and even the weather. The simple geometry of the architecture sits in stark contrast to nature’s riches; the soft roundness of a tuft of grass; the irregular branches of the Norwegian pine; and the ruggedness of the basalt rocks, this grey, weather-resistant primordial rock. The boundaries have practically disappeared, making the property appear larger than it actually is.
Natural stone is the foundation of this garden design near Stuttgart
This design style has become something of a signature for Peter Berg, who prefers to work with two classical elements: stone and plants. “The owner of the garden, a lover of aesthetics and design, was on board with this approach. The strong contrast means there is even greater emphasis on the architecture. By obscuring the surrounding buildings, it becomes even more stunning,” explains the garden designer from Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate. The planner used a total of 170 tonnes of basalt rocks and basalt lava slabs in this garden. The entire area has been subtly terraced with stone in a way that guides surface water to the plants. Depending on their shape, the stones also serve as indestructible furniture, they become a staircase or make it easier to access and maintain the flowerbeds. The use of stone also reflects the history of the place, as the garden near Stuttgart is on the site of a former quarry – an ideal garden to call on the design skills of Peter Berg.
Echoing the architecture
The house’s two terraces are also made of basalt and their design mimics the architecture. “Like the house, they are basically rectangular. A radius was then calculated, and every corner was rounded off,” explains Peter Berg. This shape is echoed in the yew hedges at the entrance to the house. These are the only architectural plants – every other specimen looks as if it was created by nature itself.
Sustainable garden design
As usual, Peter Berg incorporated a lot of grasses and woody plants in this garden. “It turns out that gardens with a high proportion of woody plants take on a life of their own and are part of the solution to climate change,” says the planner, who carefully selected all of the trees and shrubs, as well as the stones and rocks. Noble solitaires, a name given to truly exceptional stand alone trees, give the garden depth and make it appear larger.
Abundant planting languishing over the rocks
The result is a multi-layered picture that looks completely natural. “Following nature’s example, all the flowerbeds are densely overgrown – this keeps seed and weed growth to a minimum, thus reducing maintenance. The grey basalt is secondary to the plants, so the different shades of green are always visible,” explains Peter Berg. By using larger trees and making the stones look like they were placed there by nature, the garden appears much older than it actually is.
Project details
Garden dimensions
500m²
Location
in der Nähe von Stuttgart
Garden design
Peter Berg
Photography
Ferdinand Graf Luckner
Click on ‘Overview’ to discover more of our projects
View of the castle
Fantastic views need a fantastic garden. The construction of this private garden near Aachen, overlooking the castle, was challenging.
The garden in autumn.
Planning a swimming pond – the challenges posed by nature-inspired garden design
Designing gardens that are as close to nature as possible is what GartenLandschaft stands for. The design for this garden included a swimming pond, complete with regeneration zone. A small island was also created. Reflected on the surface of the water, plants cleverly tie everything together.
“When planning outdoor lighting, the light should be in the foreground, with its source hidden. This creates a play of light and shadow.”
Fritz Döpper
The light installation accompanies the garden design. Being in the garden in the evening is an entirely different experience. Illuminated lounges, paths, rock features and plants create a whole new atmosphere. Our long-term partner Fritz Döpper designed the lighting to complement the garden.
Enchanting evening by the swimming pond
Perspective drawing from the design phase – swimming pond on a slope
The garden design process
Garden design
Peter Berg
Lighting design
LUC Fritz Döpper
Selection of trees used
cork spindle-tree
Japanese maple ‘Fireglow’
Crab apple and common oak
