Classic semi-detached houses in red brick from the Fritz Schumacher era are characteristic of these streets in the north of Hamburg, which are interspersed with greenery. Until well into the post-war period, such areas "behind the house" were mainly used as productive gardens for self-sufficiency. It was rare to find a purely ornamental garden as we know and appreciate it today.

For a long-standing owner of such a semi-detached house, the opportunity arose to take over the other half of the house. Consequently, he also received a second garden. The team from Jensen Landscape Architects designed both gardens for him - with a delay of around four years. In the garden first planned for the western half of the house, beautiful planting had developed over the four years along the former central border. The decision was made to leave it as it was and to develop the second part of the garden in a slightly different design language, but in the same style. The impression was to remain that these were still two gardens with two separate lawns. While the older garden still had some geometrically shaped, classic curves, a tea pavilion open on two sides with a wooden deck in front, the younger part has somewhat more modern-looking lines, patio areas in angular slab formats and sharp-edged joints, a row of five trees along the neighboring border and angular lights.

The lower garden areas are accessed from the mezzanine floor via two wrought-iron and cast-iron staircases based on historical models, which appear lighter than wooden or stone constructions due to their transparency. In combination with railings and handrails as well as the roofing made of pre-weathered zinc on a wooden structure on the loggia, a harmonious overall picture is created. Multi-stemmed solitary shrubs such as rock pear and flowering dogwood are a must in such a garden. Other plant highlights include rhododendron "Schneekrone" and plate hydrangeas. Japanese holly provides the winter-green structures in the form of individual or grouped balls and low hedges. The finely tuned use of plants creates attractive, seasonally varied, yet relatively low-maintenance garden atmospheres all year round. For example, you will find combinations of delicate roses with small lamp-cleaner grass, gray-leaf funkia with carpet cranesbill, giant leek with Japanese forest grass, catmint with prairie candle and Allium "Globemaster" or lavender with Allium atropurpureum and checkerboard flower. The combinations of lavender with silver candles, star coneflowers and woolly cicely are magnificent for late summer.

www.jensen-landschaftsarchitekten.de

(Published in CUBE Hamburg 01|20)