The German way

FEAR not: I am not going to tell you that the German way of using herbaceous plants is better than ours.

- Charles Quest-Ritson

On the contrary, it’s simply different. Twenty years ago, I wrote a guide to German gardens. It gave me the opportunity to spend a year looking at gardens, old and new, in every region from the Baltic to the Alps. I had visited a few German gardens from time to time, but I had no idea that so much of historical, botanical and horticultural interest was to be found.

Like many Brits, I had been brought up to believe that Germany was a cultural desert (apart from music) and that Goering had said ‘when I hear the word “culture”, I reach for my machine gun’. The quote was British propaganda, but many people who went through the Second World War believed it told them something about Germany and the Germans. Not so: I found the Germans to be charming, civilised, courteous and helpful. I still do.

I was completely bowled over by Germany’s historic gardens: Schwetzingen, Herrenhausen and, above all, the spectacular complex of parks and gardens in Potsdam and nearby Berlin. I discovered that the landscape movement had developed new forms of compelling beauty in Germany well into the 19th century, long after the English had forgotten it. I was also struck by the number and excellence of German botanic gardens and their glasshouse collections. I kept meeting plants not grown in England and coming away with long lists of goodies that I wanted to grow myself.