Garden in the Bergisches Land, Solingen

This garden on the outskirts of Solingen offers a fantastic view of the Bergisches Land due to its hillside location. As part of a house extension, a spacious wellness area with panoramic windows was created in the basement. The garden got thereby a new value:
By the terracing of the garden in three levels the garden can be used variously. In the upper area, close to the house, a generous terrace with space for sunbeds and parasols adjoins the wellness area. A ground-level water band encloses the adjacent lawn, which also serves as a fall protection.
In a sheltered location, there is a wooden terrace on the middle level.
The pond on the lower level can be circumnavigated via a gravel path or crossed on stepping stones. The area is particularly close to nature with bird, bee nourishment and protection woods.

This 1,650 m² garden on the outskirts of Solingen offers a dreamlike view into the Bergisches Land due to its hillside location.

Retrospect: Before the conversion, the garden was only accessible via a narrow path from the terrace of the ground floor and was hardly used. As part of the house extension, a spacious wellness area with panoramic windows was created in the basement of the house. This gave the garden a new significance. The family's wishes were many-sided. The top priority was to integrate the architecture into the landscape. Through a natural and sustainable design, the garden should connect well with the adjacent landscape conservation area. In addition, versatility was desired: various seating areas in the sun and shade in different sizes, a path system that encourages exploration into the sloping garden hillside and water in various forms.

By terracing the garden into 3 levels, all desires could be met. In the upper area, close to the house, a spacious terrace with space for sunbeds and parasols adjoins the wellness area and invites you to sunbathe after swimming. The defining element here is the lawn, which visually forms a unit with the surrounding meadows. Green plant islands with high grasses directly at the house create a lot of atmosphere. A generous staircase connects the upper living terrace on the ground floor with the garden.
Behind the lawn, a water pool with bubblers flows into a ground-level water band. With its architectural forms, it picks up the line of the house. It forms the boundary of the upper level and at the same time serves as a fall protection. Thus, the construction of a railing could be omitted and an open space with a view of the landscape is created.

On the middle level, a wooden terrace is located in a sheltered position, where you can enjoy the sun and the open view over the adjacent pond into the surrounding area even on warm spring days. The water of the upper water band collects here in a low basin and falls down over a waterfall into the pond. Hiding behind clipped yew hedges are the walls needed to support the terrain.

Following the steps down to the lower level, you reach the pond, which can be circumnavigated by a gravel path or crossed over stepping stones in the water. The entire lower level is planted in a naturalistic manner with bird, bee nourishing and protective shrubs, and the edges of the pond are lushly vegetated with native marsh plants and are now an attraction for dragonflies, birds and amphibians.
The rainwater from the sealed areas in the garden also collects in this pond. If there is excess, it seeps into the surrounding wetlands.

The prestigious and spacious entrance area in front of the house is not only a driveway and entrance, but also provides space for a small seating area and a water table. Beds with loose planting, hedges and small-crowned trees structure the courtyard area. The sealed areas are largely drained on the property.

In the evening hours, the garden is discreetly illuminated indirectly and develops in the darkness a very special, almost mystical atmosphere.

Due to a clean detailing, a varied garden has been created, which despite its fundamental redesign blends well into the landscape and forms harmonious transitions to the neighboring properties. The modern appearance of the levels is repeatedly broken up by the soft shapes of the plants. In the selection process, attention was paid to particularly healthy and vigorous varieties that are disease-resistant and require little maintenance. Two main maintenance rounds a year are therefore sufficient and mulching with material composted in the garden means that fertiliser can be dispensed with.