For a charming restored villa east of Hamburg, landscape architect Soeren von Hoerschelmann crafted a garden that captures the essence of French design. He harnesses time itself as a design tool, allowing his gardens to reveal the rhythm of seasons, the patient growth of trees and shrubs, and the natural aging of materials. To him, gardening is about setting these processes in motion, letting them evolve, and knowing when to gently interrupt them. This garden embodies that philosophy. Its residents embrace the garden's pleasures with genuine joy, day after day.

Burgpreppach sandstone in varied formats creates the garden's structural framework: textured stone slabs guide visitors to the house and form the terrace base. Steps connect different levels, each held by low dry stone walls. The fountain and basin define their own distinct garden rooms. But the material offers something equally compelling: patina. The architect welcomes the stone's transformation—lichens and moss taking hold, the surface silvering with age, each surface deepening in character over time.

Thoughtfully composed spaces transform this modest 640 m² garden into something far more expansive. The front garden seamlessly weaves together parking, generous planting beds, and a welcoming approach to the house. Beyond lies the courtyard, understated in its fountain and seating, yet designed for flexible living. Higher still, the plant room offers perennials and mature specimens a richly layered stage. Finally, the garden culminates in a formal water basin, its precise geometry creating a striking focal point.

A yew hedge and larch screen form the garden's protective boundary. Natural site contours flow through the space, articulated by dry walls and steps. Steel screens serve as crucial room dividers, sculpting the courtyard, plant room, and basin garden into distinct yet interconnected zones. At the garden's far end, a shell-like metal pavilion—forged from steel like the screens above—frames the view while providing shelter and visual intrigue. White wisteria cloaks it in blooms, marrying architecture with living growth in stunning fashion. From here, protected and sun-warmed, one gazes across the water through plants toward the house. Though gravel replaces grass as the quiet base layer, plants genuinely anchor this garden's spirit. They push against the architectural geometry, inject vitality, and ensure perpetual discovery. Carefully selected shrubs and small trees perfume the air, burst with blossom, and shift with seasonal color. The plant room thrums with perennials in constant transformation—each season bringing renewal, each year deepening the residents' passion for their garden.

www.gaertenvonhoerschelmann.de

Photography Credits:

Ferdinand Graf Luckner
www.graf-luckner.de

(Published in CUBE Hamburg 01|21)