(Engine noise) First flatten everything. Then something new can grow again. But where this chunk falls, grass won't grow anymore. (rattling) Good. Perfect. There is no plant that does not look better in combination with stones. It's a very nice game of contrasts. Hard stone, soft plant. But the stones are also a formal element. A calm element. Stones are furniture, I can use them. There are paths, there are walls. And stairs. At the same time, this also makes the garden a bit easier to maintain. Where there are big stones, there will never be work again. (Birds chirping) A detached house in Bad Bodendorf near Sinzig. A garden like many. An apple tree. And you can reveal that, he will be the only one who is considering clear-cutting. The rest of the garden is showing its age. The purpose of the campaign is to clean up the wood a bit and take away what is not so attractive and valuable. The lawn is getting smaller. We get a solid stone structure. With large greywacke stones. But also with dry wall elements in between. Then it's always nice, like it used to be done in the vineyards, not a giant wall, but spreading the jumps. We can go around the corner with this height. But here, when we're at that level, we can go back to the next level and a little higher. In the end it all depends a bit on how the stones are. But there can be two or even three levels here by making this corner a bit higher at the end. (Reporter:) Do you have the picture in your head? - Yes. (snippets of conversation) (chug) Peter Berg has been a horticulturist and landscape gardener for more than 40 years . He has his business in Sinzig, but his orders take him all over Germany. Also to neighboring countries. A craftsman who has already won a number of awards for his garden design . When it comes to gardens, compromise is not his thing. Anything that bothers the eye of the aesthete must go. Peter Berg shows no mercy there. (Engine noise) The Thuja doesn't work at all. (Removed snippets of conversation) Do you want to move or not? Great. What? (Snippets of conversation) Even if it is now widespread in German gardens , it is not environmentally friendly. Their leaves and seeds are poisonous, slow to rot, and insects and birds don't like them either. So out with it. The apple tree can stay. (Cracking, engine noise) But Peter Berg gives it a new look. When the gardener is done, he must be able to throw the hat through the tree. It has to be that airy. But that's more cut to yield. I tend to cut a bit more aesthetically. But you can't see any structure of the plant. And... So, let's get rid of everything that's in the middle, inside. And what actually ... also gets little light. Rather cut the thin parts than cut the thick parts. So I'm more in favor of cutting like the Japanese cut. With sharp saws and scissors. And less with the machine. And then I'm also in favor of cutting in such a way that you don't really see that you 've cut. And... yes. We'll get that away now. Now we have the structure here of the tree. Now you can see how it builds up, how it spreads out. And ... now let's make even more air inside. Anything that grows inwards and not outwards. (Clanking) (Engine noise) The old lawn is simply shaved off. (rumble) (rumble) (metallic rumble) That's greywacke. 200 tons of these colossuses are supposed to go into the garden. (rumble) That's always the situation, at first you think: "What does he want with the stones, they must be crazy." "They're way too big." But it's the dimension that makes it. And that's how it works better. If the stones are so small that they wobble when you walk on them, it's not ideal in terms of functionality. And big stones give more rest, it's more like rock. But when they are incorporated, when the level is leveled and then the planting comes, then that is usually no longer an issue. (Machine noise) Big chunks. The employees need heavy machines for this, they cannot do it with muscle power alone. bit forward. Good. That's okay. When building, you can see how they are put together, how they fit. As is usual in the old craft, you have to let the material guide you to a certain extent. I need to know where is up, I need to know what is the viewing surface tilted towards the viewer. And then I need to know how far to put the stones. They have to be built in far enough so that I have the feeling that there can still be ... ten tons of rock attached. So you don't even have to see how big the stone is. If they are stored away in such a hollow way, one always asks oneself, when will they be picked up again? (Roaring) We'll have to... push it out a bit and get here. If you leave, is there still enough space? (rattling, roaring) (creaking) Good that Peter Berg has his plan in mind. Looks pretty desolate here. Where else should there be room for plants? The stones come from a quarry in the region. Peter Berg chose them himself. (Creaking) Before we take a stone from China or a concrete block, which is also not very ecological in its production , we then take these stones - we save the stones. Otherwise it will be gravel. (Drumming, hammering) (Quiet snippets of conversation) Then there we have ... a visitor to the construction site. Manuela and Wilfried Bauer own the garden. You still have a few extra requests. (Barking) Over here the brazier. we can do it So a bit ... - I also like the back. Oh right, or there. I couldn't really picture it. I'll be honest. We talked about many things and also saw many patterns. Also looked at many pictures and in other gardens. To that extent, elements of it, I was already aware of them. But that it will be like this in my own garden afterwards, I didn't get the picture myself. So far we've had more or less a playground, I always say, right? Meadow, playground equipment, there was space for the paddling pool and so on. But the children have outgrown me now, that is no longer necessary. Now it will be the feel-good garden. We have to look again. We could get some drywall here. Always two or three meters, nothing more. At seat height. Then we can put that over here again. get here, right? And then always nice ... nice parallel to the conservatory. And the third element at the back, we also want to stay a little higher with the corner, so we took slimmer ones with the outer stones. That we don't lose too much space. (Church bells) A new day in Bad Bodendorf. Today the gardeners want to pull up the dry stone wall. To make it straight, they stretch a cord parallel to the slope for orientation. (crunch of the earth) So we would start here. That we are building a seat wall here. I went back yesterday... to make sure we... get a decent cover for the wall. In the past there was always a natural stone cover on the walls. Solid. And we have... stones today that come from such wall coverings that are hand hewn. This is yet another quality of craftsmanship. From the solid material something like that... (Engine starts.) Wait a minute. I think we're good on time. The two weeks ... we can do it. (Machine roar) The trench tamper compacts the gravel subsoil. The foundation for the drywall. Put the shovel away so that it can tip over there. The stones for the dry stone wall are also made of greywacke. (beeping) Nah, the right ones. We need that. The layer thickness, roughly by layer thickness. We need that now. The rubble stones are embossed, which means they are shaped so that they fit together and there are not too many gaps that make the wall unstable. Dirk, you can install that, right? - Exactly. Can you install Dirk is a veteran when it comes to dry stone walls. A dry wall is built without mortar. From the first stone onwards, he stores the Wacken as stably as possible. The largest area down, the most beautiful side to the front. The trimming is just important that you get these wedges. If one doesn't heal, he doesn't have wedges either. And then they are wrong. (Quiet rumbling, grinding) Dirk, I'll throw it there for you. There. Oh, but it's getting... a little crooked. - Goes. I'll go. - Yes, good. The stones are placed one inside the other like a puzzle. (Hammering) This is a bulling hammer, the most important tool in wall building. The good ones here have a steel edge. The slightly easier ones... Dirk, where's your gavel? They don't have a steel edge, but they do have a sharp edge. With the Fäustel you often know that it is then taken. And you basically always hit here ... with this edge. Dirk drives the stones into the ground with a wide-surfaced hammer. The stones are always laid at a slight angle. Like ten to twenty percent. We always do five percent, it's just nicer aesthetically. Of course, you always have to back it up very thoroughly. It is important that the wall lays against the slope, because a dry wall is a gravity wall. Because this is a dynamic system. When it freezes in winter and the water expands, it all spreads out. And if the wall inclines backwards, it settles again, so it remains stable. The vertical joints, the so-called butt joints, were always offset by Dirk so that the wall does not become unstable. Be careful that this doesn't trickle out the front. We've got to brace ourselves first... (coughing) The smaller and not-so-pretty stones are ideal for backing up the front. They fill up the cracks with soil. (Banging, birdsong) You just get an eye for with the times. And then also knows how to hit them. Where there are cracks - or you can hear that too. If the sound gets duller, then it breaks incorrectly. Must always remain such a bright sound. If you work on them like that, you also have to work a lot with your ears. If you pull the hammer backwards like this, you get a relatively straight line. That's how I explain it to myself, then the stone structure is still stable. And if that sounds so dull, then they shatter in all directions. (Engine rattling) (High-pitched whirring) What a block. The dry stone wall will later be able to lean against the mighty greywacke . Get up, pour earth against it and come. (Creaking) Yes, the cover will come on then. (Hammering) (Quiet snippets of conversation) You can make that a little coarser. I had already done it in Berlin, like a stonemason really works with a chisel. But that's actually almost an exaggeration. For corners like that, it's quite nice if you do it for corners. Then you can work like a stonemason. But especially here with the rocks that's exaggerated. That's what this shadow play is all about, you can be too perfect. And then no more lizards and toads fit in between, that's not so nice either. Otherwise the lizard will scold you afterwards, that wouldn't be nice either. The last piece of the puzzle. (Birds chirping, crunching) Client and gardener - sometimes different ideas collide. Can I make a wish? Yes, if I may then also wish? You have already wished for a firm covering on the terrace. And new terrace. I wish that we would build you a reasonable stage there. And for two reasons. - Yes? If you now ... here, it's so nicely hidden. Yes, that's probably true. If we make that obvious again and there's a gap there, then we haven't caught the soil. And the other point is: Every Fifi who goes for a walk here then turns off. Then we have that dirt in the garden. No, we're not worried. - Me one hundred percent. Um... - Good. Last night, when I was looking and trying, I noticed with my feet that you have to sort things out. If there's a step here, that's fine. - Yes. I find it pretty narrow too, to be honest. That's the advantage of secret access. It's a good thing you stopped by. (snippets of conversation) This morning we thought we were relaxed and on time. Now it's getting tighter with each additional task. But okay. (metal clanking) Mortar? Just for the cover. (Hiss) Peter Berg has built up a real network of dealers over the years. With them he finds special stones, wood and other materials. The old wall coping is real stonework, hand-carved from a single block. So, dock in front, stop in front. - Yes. stopping in front. I'm right. (unintelligible) hang up. Wait, I'll push the... - Bring the next one. Dirk, now you just have to get out the front again. Uh... up with it. Should work. Not quite. A little bit, wait, I'll come with the Bello. They will bend away the iron pins later. The stone slab probably comes from an old train station. It used to be that here in the Ahr Valley , all the slopes were criss-crossed with dry stone walls. The winegrowers used to be able to do this, and any good bricklayer could also work with natural stone. This has changed over time, with industrial products, so that they can only process formatted industrial stones. Here you have to have an eye, have to trim. Each stone is different, is individual, is the same as paving, natural stone paving is rough shape. And concrete block paving is an industrial product with a certain dimensional stability. (birdsong) Lush splendour, a blooming paradise. No, they haven't got that far in Bad Bodendorf yet. This is Peter Berg's very private garden. Changed, transformed, embellished and enlarged again and again in 32 years . (Birds chirping) There are no limits to your imagination. Here he practiced his personal handwriting. And found out what can turn a garden into a work of art. (water splashing) We work with the products of nature. This is natural stone, plant, water, soil. The handwriting can be seen in the stone settings. The handwriting shows in the way of planting. In the plant compositions, in the color concept. And yes, also in this free work, which you don't learn in school. (Birds chirping) We only ever asked ourselves two questions, one of which was: What makes sense? And the second was: How can it be easier? You can only really answer both questions if you accompany and care for your gardens later and see how they develop, whether it works or not. And you can only develop that further in practice. That's why my garden is my field of experimentation. Of course you also have to, if you put it together in your head, then you really have to see: It will look like this in five years, in ten years it will be like this, in 15, in 20 it should still work. The architect builds a house, then it's mostly finished. The landscape painter paints a picture and then the work is done. The musician composes a piece, and the piece of music can be played over and over again. But the landscape park or the garden is subject to these changes and becomes more and more beautiful. Or some projects get lost at some point. If they fall into the wrong hands, are no longer maintained or were poorly designed. (Birds chirping) Back in Bad Bodendorf. Then the design of the garden goes into the next phase. Bohan? The trees are to be planted today. (Engine noise) We'll start with the big cherry tree. And the ironwood tree in the back corner. Then we see what else we plant in between or next to it... or on top of it. (Engine rattle) Bohan, here, on the balls! Shovel and join. Zack, away, stop. Hold on like that again. So? - Yes / Yes. That's it. Peter Berg carefully selected the trees in the tree nursery. Are they strong and vigorous, well grown. But what he didn't expect was the hot temperatures in May. We don't have these temperatures directly, it was unforeseen that it's suddenly getting so warm. This is just as stressful for the plant as it is for people when they have to change from moderate temperatures to almost 30 degrees. Then you get a little stressed. Against thirst, the cornel thirsts for water. Now we have to cast and model properly, right? The casting ring is initially modeled. Now it's important because we want as much of the bale as possible so that it can seep into the bale. (birdsong) And ai. An ironwood tree. Back up, up, up. Now we have put a lot of earth underneath. Here. From the witch hazel family. Moritz, which we want to go to the hut over there, that's behind you about now. Look, I'll set it up. Moritz, you help me over here. Someone has to pull along here, otherwise we won't be able to do it. Ah, that still doesn't do anything. Yes. - So. So, a little... Stop, stop, over here a little. So far, so. That would be good, I think. Bite even more generously. A good protection. The art is to see what you want to see. And to conceal everything that you don't find so aesthetically pleasing. (Distant conversations) Nursery, as the name suggests, has something to do with educational work. In the good nurseries, the plants are transplanted every four years. And they are regularly pruned and trained. The special plants are planted extra far apart so that they can develop wonderfully as a single plant. (Birds chirping) Cornelian cherry, witch hazel, maple and pear should take root in the garden. You only need one thing now: water. (Birds chirping) We hope for nice, cool, rainy May weather. Aren't you happy about that? - Nope. Not at the moment. Not at the moment. I love the cool May nights and the May rain. (Distant conversations) The time has come for perennials, flowers and grasses. Peter Berg chose them in a nursery in the Rhineland. (Distant conversations) We start with the solitary perennials, i.e. the ones in the largest pot , and place them on the ... In principle, there are always isosceles triangles in order to have the ideal distance between the plants. Yes, let's continue here. Exactly, you're quick, I'll get it. So. Ah, not quite. So it has to be there. This is Chinese reed. Now we have a triangle again, right? Zack. And then maybe we'll go there again. Yes. The gardener likes to work with grasses. Moved by the wind, they change their shades of green. They give a garden more lightness. Like a painter, Peter Berg sets his accents in the picture he has in mind. This is now the compromise between tight and close. Actually, I should go here, right? (clattering) Nah! I have to go there, right? Yes, we change. The effect here is simply that the grasses later stand over the hedge with their inflorescences and bring such a naturalness between the trees. You can no longer see the border and the grass is backlit by the evening light when the sun is so low. Especially in autumn, when they are fully formed, they are up with their inflorescences and then the warm autumn light, then the autumn colors change, then they are there all winter and still have stability and structure. So. With the wonderful floor ... So, zack. Yeah, I'll do it. One is with the shovel and one is with the hand. Yes? Do not mix both by hand. So, push it with the shovel, hands off! Not as much. So now it's your turn. There, one. There. Caution! Hands off. pricking. (unintelligible) So, you can stuff the next one. The nice thing is when I don't have to be in the office and don't rush from appointment to appointment, but can just build and plant and in the evening see what you've done. Ah, water, water! Do you want? - Uh, yes! (Birds chirping) The picture gets splashes of color. Flowers and perennials in white, blue and purple. He often finds yellow and orange too intense. One is that you bring calm into it by not taking too many varieties. But the other thing is that you have contrasts from the leaf structure. Putting similar plants next to each other is not as good as contrasting ones. So the contrast is in the design. A much better means than the unison. First they put the larger plants. Iris. (Birds chirping) The fact that we watered so intensively yesterday, until eight o'clock, and also let the sprinkler run over everything, helped the plants a lot. So we lowered the temperature. The night was real relaxation for the plants. Now we have to see that we can finish areas quickly and then sprinkle on it again, water. First water in a targeted manner and then with the sprinkler. (cell phone ringing in the background) Like a protective blanket: compost. Its nutrients improve the soil. (humming, birds chirping) Work carefully, stroking so as not to injure the flowers. (humming, birdsong) This is compost made from pure green residue. And then a fine screening of up to ten millimeters. We are actually accelerating the process of nature here. We remove green residue and bring in the compost, which has already reached a certain degree of rotting. Normally, green would always stay on the face. Over time, it would be transported into the earth by the earthworms and eventually mineralized. And so we have a good, mature compost. Also fine, 'ne fine screening. This gives us better hummus, a better water supply and a better picture. Do we have a bucket somewhere? yes we have here So, we start here. Peter Berg plants catnip between the irises. It is so named because its scent is almost irresistible for cats. (Birds chirping) Now you see, those were triangles again. And now they come here. Hm? In this way, the distances between the plants are always optimized. They will all bloom soon. Violet iris, blue catnip, white sage. Like a painting. (Voices in the background) Delicate anemones, touches of white. (Birds chirping) We're walking relatively close to the edge here. - Mmm. We leave more space for the big ones. If one of these sheets is broken, take it away, and another one there. (Birds chirping) If the garden is to become a real work of art, then it has to be looked after by a manager, that is to say it has to be looked after consistently. The end result must be a natural aesthetic. It must not be too artificial, not have too many elements. And of course you have to stage the plants so that they have an effect. (conversations in the background) (birds chirping) Then Maya can start watering again when the corner is finished. Yes. (Metal clanking) Well , we're relatively close there, it doesn't matter. (water splashing) There we have it. Yes. Then we have ... (birds chirping) (reporter:) Are these the last plants? These are pretty much the last. These are columbines, they will sow themselves later. They are only one or two years old. That's why we put them in as a filler at the end. We have the following problem here, that we have nature all around and many meadows. That means that some of the environment is seeded here with the wind. And uh, you only have to pluck away from the stones in the planting areas what doesn't belong there and what still settles in the open spaces. When the areas are closed, not so much settles in. Because there is no such thing as a maintenance-free garden, but our gardens are easy to care for, simply because of the stone structure. Where there is such a big stone here, there, two and a half square meters, that's never work again. The stepping stones also get a green frame, Mühlenbeckia. Mühlenbeckia is available with a larger leaf and with a small leaf. The large-leaved ones are not so frost hardy. A fantastic plant, gives such sturdy cushions that you can even walk over them. And if we put them on the edge of the gravel, they'll grow into the gravel. Gives a wonderful cushion. (Conversations in the background) Immediately after planting, all the plants are particularly thirsty. Once their roots have dug deeper into the ground, they are no longer so sensitive. (Birds chirping) The trees are slowly surviving the heat. But withered branches and leaves must be removed. Every now and then there are corners where they just hang down too low. Yes. That's easy ... You can reduce something there. In here again, right? Last cosmetic corrections. That's my turn. - Good. You can leave a little something, because we want privacy protection. I think you can do this one, because it hangs somehow... Where is this guy hanging? - There. Oh, he's very crooked there. - Just it. Yes, okay. (Birds chirping) Up there. Oweia, let's put that away. The apple tree has also suffered from the heat. We didn't transplant it, did we? And yet he doesn't like the heat now either. Ah yes, it sorts itself. Good. Here we have to put water on it before we turn on the sprinkler. We implemented the image that I had in mind from the start in a relatively realistic way. Then there were these changes that were given by the material. The stones sometimes something different, sometimes it was bigger. Not always the way you need them. But now I'm more than satisfied with the result. (Birds chirping) The Bauer family wanted a feel-good garden. (birds chirping) Seems to have worked. I had faith that it would be okay, that's not the question. As you also say, what we saw before, the private facility, that was all great. But the idea of having that in your own garden, which is much smaller and what we have seen elsewhere, such thick stones, yes, was difficult for me to imagine. I thought it would be fine, everything turned out well, I had that confidence. (babble of voices) Now it's time to let go. The responsibility for the garden is now in other hands. Well, now we're done. Amazingly everything worked out again. No stone too many, no plant too many. It's always a miracle. (Birds chirping) Does "craftsmanship" fascinate you as much as it does us? Then subscribe to the channel now and don't miss an episode. SWR 2022
