Upper Bavarian Living

Every element—from the pool deck and terrace to the house, the poolside spaces, and the intimate wooden seating area overlooking the pasture—echoes the clean, linear language of the house's wooden cladding.

This stunning garden and pool on Lake Starnberg began with a house designed by Beer Bembé Dellinger Architects of Greifenberg. Its straight lines, exceptional materials, and thoughtfully planned evergreen plantings create a distinctive sense of calm and retreat. Charming detail: the neighboring pasture's Fleckvieh cattle occasionally graze right along the family estate's poolside fence—as if drawn to the garden itself.

Garden designer Christiane von Burkersroda from Munich created this design—a work so cohesive and carefully considered that it won the "Gardens of the Year 2020" award. The garden's clean geometric structure flows directly from the house's architectural clarity. Every component—from the pool deck and house terrace to the poolside areas and wooden pavilion overlooking the meadow—picks up the crisp horizontal lines of the house's wooden facade. Mature trees frame both mountain and lake views, making the garden feel even more expansive. To honor the house's character within the garden's spatial design and material palette, von Burkersroda selected materials that complement the pre-weathered wooden facade: dark basalt, ipé hardwood, anthracite metal, shell limestone, and travertine in warm greys create a unified, harmonious color scheme throughout. Ipé hardwood, sourced from Central and South America, belongs to the "lapacho" family—the bark's watery extracts are prized as medicinal and culinary teas. The wood rivals bongossi in both hardness and durability. In front of the evergreen yew hedge, intense blue cranesbill flowers add a striking seasonal accent.

Regularly spaced trees punctuate the composition, grounding the design. Scattered plantings of perennials and ornamental grasses—including a perennial bed integrated into the pool terrace that defines the dining area—introduce a relaxed, natural feel. The property's entrance was deliberately restrained: evergreen groundcover grasses and a single specimen tree allow the house's striking linear geometry to command attention.

www.cvb-gartendesign.de