German Goat's Beards

I enjoyed the sparse nature of this small garden in Breege with its imposingly large goat's beard.

A university public garden in Greifswald had this giant clump of Aruncus dioicus on its campus.

The largest stand of goat's beard I recall was at this former estate which is now a park in Putbus. How old is this?


I took two trips to Germany twenty-eight years apart, and curiously one of the common impressions I had from both trips was of seeing a lot of enormous clumps of Aruncus dioicus (goat's beard). I see the plant with some degree of regularity in the U.S. but not like in Germany. I wish I corresponded with a German gardener who I could ask, "Hey, what is it with the Aruncus dioicus?" My impression is that it is very popular, often an integral part of garden designs and is often preserved for what must be decades judging by the size of some of the clumps I have seen. I like the plant; I have been growing it at my house for years, but I don't think I will live long enough to build a stand of goat's beard like a couple of those pictured above.

The Karl Foerster Garden

For inspiration that directly applies to the lifestyle garden that this blog advocates there is nothing better than visiting a great private garden. On July sixth of this year I was lucky enough to visit the garden of the famous Karl Foerster in Potsdam, Germany. Although it is the historic garden that he laid out at his home it is now open to the public. The garden is the size of a slightly larger than average suburban lot but is filled entirely with what they describe as a strictly symmetrical layout. The plantings are anything but symmetrical. How many of us have the forethought to give our gardens the structure they need? I know I don't. The Foerster garden is a livable garden. Throughout are places to stroll, to sit, to admire, and to contemplate. I took 160 photographs and conjured up my best German to tell a gardener working there how much I admired and enjoyed their work. I told her that this garden made my trip worthwhile. It was a wonderful experience that I hope to refer back to often on this blog. The three above images can't begin to tell the whole story, but they are a few of the most photogenic and represent a good start. All three are of the sunken garden at the front of the house.