Designing a garden in a big city usually involves the difficulty that the space available for it is not all that generous. This is accompanied by the consideration of how to divide the limited space between rest areas and planted areas. In this particular case, the lack of light and the predominance of shade were further problems. The Munich garden architect Martin Oelkers dealt with all these difficulties brilliantly. The diversity of the garden in Obermenzing was awarded the label of one of the most beautiful private gardens of 2022.

It is important to master the fine art of creating space in order to create a garden paradise through the division of space and the interplay between light and shade. This was achieved here by using a curved path as a dividing line, which is lined with shrub beds and on which the sun conjures up alternating light and dark shadows through the leaves of the existing trees. The result was a significant before/after effect compared to the original straight, paved path and the sparse lawn. "Adieu Tristesse" was the title of an article reporting on the garden. When the house was remodeled and opened up more to the outside, this was the decisive point to redesign the garden as well. The new features include a terrace in front of the house and a covered lounge instead of the former garage. A few plants were added as accents: An ornamental apple at the entrance or a winter-flowering snowball by the lounge have been deliberately planted in such a way that they partially obscure the view and arouse curiosity to see what is hidden behind them.

For the areas overshadowed by the old oaks, the landscape gardener planted wintergreen shade and woodland shrubs. Martin Oelkers: "Even under tall oaks, you can create a garden that is worth spending time in. You shouldn't think that nothing will grow in the shade. You just have to choose the right perennials and design the shade beds in a varied way, because it's not just the flowers that are important in the shade, but first and foremost the leaf structure." A science in itself. Maryvonne Liana Schöner from "Schöner Gärten" played a leading role in this and took care of the detailed selection. The layman can hardly imagine how much plant knowledge this requires. Now there are exciting views from the house to the garden and vice versa from the path to the house - as if the garden had become larger. The elaborate planting can be enjoyed all year round. The most important thing is that the result looks as if it has grown.

www.landschaftenundgaerten.de
www.schöner-gärten.de

Photos:
B. Kusser
M. Oelkers

(Published in CUBE Munich 02|24)