Garden for a historic villa on the lake

The heart of the garden is a generous terrace of Limes dolomite, framed by a retaining vineyard wall of shell limestone – the same stone used to reclad an old fountain and bring it back into use. The plot falls by around 15 metres from its highest point to the entrance. Block steps and stepping stones in the same material lead through these changes in level without ever feeling like a construction.

The structure comes from specimen trees: roof-trained plane trees shade the dining area, while an umbrella-shaped ironwood tree and a seven-metre Japanese maple set the focal points. The old trees were kept – the new planting fits in rather than competes. Beneath them, a naturalistic, insect-friendly planting of fragrant roses, lavender and summer perennials in calm colour sequences; a herb table brings the kitchen into the garden.

In the evening, understated lighting design by Inlite takes over – ground spots on the specimen trees, light on the steps, centrally controlled. The garden loses none of its calm, it simply shifts it. The listed house remains the focal point throughout, and the view of Lake Starnberg the guiding theme.

Completed in autumn 2023. Above all, one thing was achieved: creating small places of retreat in a large, park-like garden that make it a place to spend time in again – and in such a way that everything feels as if it had always been this way.

The garden is featured in the Callwey yearbook Gärten des Jahres 2025. Book from Callwey Verlag · Project portrait at Gärten des Jahres

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Photos: Benjamin Klopp / frames for good · “Gärten des Jahres” 2021 (Callwey) – nominated and published in the book