Show gardens

On the eastern edge of Berlin in Marzahn, close to the border with Brandenburg, is a large cultivated park. Originally laid out in 1987 as the Berlin Gardenshow, it hosted the International Garden Exhibition, IGA, in 2017. It adopted the name Gärten der Welt, Gardens of the World, at the same time. It is easy to reach by public transport, the U5 to Kienberg – Gärten der Welt is a few hundred metres from the cable car entrance. There are other entrances with car parks for those arriving in their own vehicle.

The cable car journey takes you up over a small hill (more of that in a later post) and down to the main park.

On entering the park it is clear that strolling along its paths is the preferred mode of transport, dogs and bicycles are not permitted.

The part of the park closest to the cable car is devoted to show gardens, International Artisan Gardens. Each garden is surrounded by tall hedges creating a guided entry and route through. Most have water features in them and are themed to represent an aspect of their country of origin.

The Contemporary Brazilian garden was designed by Alex Hanazaki, a Brazilian landscape architect with Japanese roots. His aim is to reproduce the nature of the tropics with powerful lines and a place of rest and contemplation

The Thai garden is a fun representation of the geological processes in the southern islands and the combination of tradition and vitality of contemporary Thailand. The gaps in the mirrored wall allow a person to lean out over the water giving the impression of floating in the landscape.

The contribution from the South African GREENInc is called “African Bouquet” and aims to combine the sense of possession, exploration, and individual freedom coupled with the related loss of freedoms of others.

Teresa Moller from Chile plays with the interaction between strict agricultural lines and natural movement. The plants under the Andean beech trees are intended to develop and grow without human intervention.