If the grasses and perennials pioneer Karl Foerster could see Karin Winkler’s garden, he would be proud of his legacy. Set among rolling pasture, hills and forests, Karin’s 10,000 square metre plot in the eastern tip of Bavaria is the embodiment of Karl’s low-maintenance, nature-inspired gardening ideals. Laid-back plantings are cut through by lawn paths that invite discovery and multiple vistas.
You may also like:
- A sustainable family garden in Australia
- A geometric and naturalistic garden in the Netherlands
- Weed, slugs, moles and mice: all are welcome at this pioneering natural farm in Devon
- Traditional meets contemporary in this modern country garden design for a couple of newbie gardeners
The show starts early with carpets of hellebores, primroses and narcissi, and culminates in an Indian summer spectacle of silhouetted seedheads, flaming foliage and silvery grasses. “The winter is long and cold here,” says Karin. “And the garden only starts to look summery in August. Often the best time for sun and dry weather is autumn.”
Winter is long and cold here, and the garden only starts to look summery in August. Often the best time for sun and dry weather is autumn.
Karin’s creation, in contrast to many naturalistic gardens, is unrestrained by design or planting dogmas. When she started gardening the plot in her early twenties, she had no grand plan. Now in her fifties, she still doesn’t. She just loves plants, especially perennials. Her favourites are phloxes, brightening the summer and early autumn garden in shades of pink, purple and white. Quoting Karl Foerster, she says: “A garden without phlox is not only a mistake but a sin against summer.”
The garden consists of variously sized island beds – some long and thin, others more rounded, but all substantial and organically shaped. Each year she adds a new border.
One of her latest was more than 120 square metres. The extra work is no deterrent, and she relishes her annual trip to Christian Kress’s nursery, Sarastro, just over the border in Austria. “I take a wallet full of cash and fill my car up,” she says.
When she started gardening Karin had no grand plan. She still doesn’t. She just loves plants.
Karin favours taller perennials, such as eupatoriums, white willowherb, Silphium, Cephalaria gigantea, Cicerbita plumieri and Althaea cannabina, and combines them with stately grasses, including molinias, miscanthus and Stipa gigantea. “I want to hide in my garden; that’s why I like tall plants.” This need for privacy may stem from her neighbours’ disapproval.
“People around here don’t like my garden. They think it’s untidy. They like things to be neat and just so.”
Although Karin might choose to hide from reproving glances, she can also take advantage of the wide borrowed views whenever she likes, as there is no barrier between her plot and the surrounding countryside – a boon too for the local deer and rabbits, which can be a challenge, though Karin is forgiving of their nibbling, and plants accordingly.
Karin’s joyful approach is refreshing – a reminder that gardening can, and should, be what you want it to be.
Unlike many gardeners, Karin never worries about her garden, feels guilt about its maintenance, or suffers from gardener’s block. With no horticultural training, she relies on her artistic bent – she teaches art for a living – and the countryside for inspiration. Ideas come to her easily and she enjoys an enviable laissez-faire approach to design, simply choosing plants that are compatible with the soil and weather.
“The ground in the garden is rather wet, so I always plant perennials that thrive in this environment.”
Stones too can be an issue. “The stones just seem to grow here,” she says, with a smile. To deal with this, Karin uses the excavated pebbles to create little mounds within and on the edges of her borders – solid counterpoints to the loose planting.
Other than a low wall, which she also built using surplus stones, there are no other structural features and no seating. Karin never feels the need to sit and contemplate, enjoying instead the close, more active connection with plants that gardening brings.
Aside from an ever-growing collection of ornamental beds, the garden encompasses an old orchard with pear, apple, plum, cherry, quince and medlar trees and a vegetable garden. Karin grows lots of blueberries too, which she appreciates as much for the fruits’ rich blues against the vibrant red autumn foliage as for their taste. A few ancient trees – including a huge larch and a giant pear – stand sentinel over the plot, to which she has added fruit trees, tulip trees, lindens and more.
Amazingly for such a vast plot, Karin does all the gardening herself, relying on occasional assistance from a gardener. In the first two years of a new border, she weeds assiduously, but after that she lets it do its own thing. She never divides plants or cuts back stems at the end of the season. Once winter is over, she simply pulls all the dead stems away, and the show starts again.
Karin’s joyful approach is refreshing – a reminder that gardening can, and should, be what you want it to be. “In my garden I can be completely myself,” she says. When every year brings extra plant beauty, she may well turn her mind back to Karl Foerster, who wrote: ‘In my next life, I’d like to be a gardener once again. The job is too big for just one lifetime.'
In brief:
What Relaxed naturalistic garden.
Where Bavaria, Germany. Size Over 10,000 square metres.
Soil Stony, moist and well drained.
Climate Harsh, snowy winters; autumn is often the sunniest season.
Hardiness zone USDA 7a.
8 of the best plants for autumn colour
1. Eutrochium maculatum ‘Riesenschirm’
Thriving in full sun and damp soil, this is a hardy giant that remains upright throughout the winter. Height and spread: 2.5m x 90cm. AGM*. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b†.
2. Anaphalis margaritacea
Clusters of white flowers in late summer last through autumn. Likes full sun and moist, well-drained soil. 1m x 1m. RHS H7, USDA 3a-8b.
3. Symphyotrichum ‘Ochtendgloren’
Produces generous sprays of small pink flowers throughout the autumn among mildew-resistant, dark-green foliage. Likes well-drained soil. 1.4m x 60cm. AGM. RHS H4, USDA 3a-8b.
Read our grow guide to Symphyotrichum
4. Rhus typhina ‘Dissecta’
Turns spectacular shades of yellow, orange and red in autumn. Full sun and moist soil. 2.5m x 2.5m. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.
5. Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’
With branched panicles of blue flowers, this is a striking addition to the autumn garden. Beware: all parts of the plant are toxic. Up to 1.5m x 60cm. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 3a-7b.
6. Sanguisorba ‘Blackthorn’
Produces soft-pink bottlebrush flowers on upright stems from late summer into October. Enjoys moist soil and sun or light shade. 1.5m x 45cm. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b.
Here's how to grow sanguisorba
7. Sanguisorba ‘Scapino’
Bears a profusion of dark-purple flowers that are held on wiry, upright stems. Prefers a position in full sun but will tolerate drought. 1.5m x 50cm. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b.
8. Euphorbia palustris
Starts off the season with fresh-green leaves, which turn a rich orange-red in autumn. Prefers full sun and some drainage. 1m x 2m. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 5a-10b.
*Holds an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. †Hardiness ratings given where available.