As many of you know already, I live in Bavaria in the south of Germany. Bavaria is one of 16 federal states in Germany, and every year each has their own regional horticultural show. The 2020 show was postponed last year, but took place this year instead, and was in Ingolstadt (known perhaps best for being home to Audi car manufacturers). This is just a 90 minute drive from us, and having lived there for many years I could not miss this opportunity! So I picked up a friend on the way and we made a day of it. 😃
Here are some of my impressions…
There were some long beds of perennials leading off the main square like sun rays and I was impressed with both the dramatic planting and the size and vigour of the plants…
(Click on any photo to enlarge)
A lot of lilies were still flowering, and the combination with Coreopsis, Agastache and Heleniums made quite an impact.
The first asters were also flowering. Grasses played a major role in all the gardens, which appealed to me in particular.
A few beds along pathways were reserved for annuals. And these were amazing!
Color themes were red and orange, orange and blue, or grey and pink…
Some of the small show gardens were really imaginative…
I really loved this view…
A few were nothing special, but there was always an element for inspiring, such as the raised bed idea here, and the firepit using decorative stone and paving with a cute little bench…
Inspiration…
Not sure we need one of these…
But one of these is on my wishlist. It rocks gently, and of course we tried it out! 😉
And this grass is on my wishlist too: Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’…
So many lovely vistas, flowers and ideas…
The show is being held all summer and covers 23 hectares on the edge of the city, with large open expanses, and a small lake on one side. It will remain a park after the show, and will be such a treasure for the city dwellers. I do hope more trees will be planted there, making it into a haven for birds and insects as well as people. 😃
Have you been able to visit a garden show this summer? (I might even visit this one again soon! 😉)
Words and Herbs 
I am sure you should go back. With a garden space that large you couldn’t possibly see it all at one time. The chaise that rocks would be nice in the garden. Of course that would call for a side table or two to set your drink and book on while you gaze out into the garden. 😉 Thank you for taking us along. I have not been to any other gardens this summer. Hopefully next year I won’t have to visit them vicariously.
It was a treat to see this after so few outings recently. Glad to share! I do hope you can visit a garden again soon too Lisa.
Bavarian Horticultural Show, Ingolstadt 2021. The beauty is excellent as I was in Freisburg I’m breisgau 1980 summer. It was rainy, yet colors and landscape showed artwork.
Thanks Cathy.
Beautiful plantings. It is interesting to see many American native plants like echinacea and Joe Pye weed. Planting big swaths makes a bold statement, but I like the mixed annuals, too. I found the raised table plantings attractive and an idea for gardening as we age. 😉 Thanks for sharing your tour!
Prairie planting is a big thing here, especially in parks and roadside planting. But still, I was also surprised at the extent of the American influence… pleasantly surprised! I liked the table ideas too, particularly the long one planted mainly with Sempervivums. 😃
Oh that looks a brilliant day out Cathy and great to read that some of the planting is permanent. Our composting toilet at the allotment wasn’t as grand as the one on show 😂 Were there plants and gardening sundries for sale too? We visited the Malvern Midsummer Show in June – a pleasant enough day out but not as enjoyable as the usual Spring Garden Festival which was called off this year.
Sadly there were no plants etc on sale as these really are just show gardens. Clearly good advertising for the local nurseries that did some of the planting though. I think that actually made it more pleasant, without the commercial side to it. 😃
What a treat! I have not visited a garden this summer. It is inspiring to visit a garden that you like. Amelia
It was so nice to get some inspiration and also just to see other people looking relaxed and happy. 😃
Gorgeous, you picked a good day for the flowers in bloom. Love that first bed. I like the chair too…and the Panic Grass, that variety in new to me.
I noted the manufacturer of that chair and have already made enquiries as they are based in Austria…. I liked the rusty tree too. In fact, I am slowly becoming rather fond of rust in general!
Love 💗 it..I enjoy rust as well.
Beautiful and so colourful all these flowers.
Wonderful colour for late summer. 😃
The purple and red border is a showstopper! Verbena bonariensis never flowers like that here, probably because if much more challenging summer weather.
I suppose Verbena bonariensis needs a cold spell in winter(?). It stands up to heat well, but maybe not humidity. I loved those colours too. 😃
Wow what an amazing place Cathy
It was a great day out Eunice. 😃
From your very first image I was hooked. Love the colorful annuals and definitely would like to sit in that chair. Glad you got to enjoy this special show.
Thanks Susie. The shows are rarely near enough for a visit, so I will make the most of this year’s and another friend wants to come with me in a week or so. (She has been twice already! LOL!) 😃
Looks great to be out and about again enjoying inspiring ideas!
It certainly is good to see something beyond the garden gate occasionally! 😉
Thanks for taking us along with you.
You’re welcome. 😃
Does it seem to you that European (or at least regional) landscape design is becoming influenced by Midwestern landscape design of North America? Grassy texture and yellow composite flowers seem to be more popular.
Definitely. Names like Piet Oudolf and Karl Foerster are much wider known now and the need for drought-proof planting in parks and roadside planting has steered designers towards ‘prairie’ planting with lots of grasses and strong and very hardy perennials. A development I welcome, as nurseries are beginning to stock a wider variety of plants suited to my hot, dry and windy garden! 😉
Drought proof? I missed that. Grassy plants are trendy here also, and had been before I noticed the prairie style becoming popular elsewhere, but that is because some of the natives are grassy plants. What we consider to be native here is quite at home in the local climate, so would be resistant to what is considered to be drought elsewhere; but that is very different from our climate. The climate in town gets about a foot of rain annually, and only between about October or November and March or April. Of course, that is not considered to be drought. That is just how our climate works.
Well, we had three or four years of severe drought (on our scale) but this year has been very damp and the ground water level has risen again in our region. It is pretty normal here to have a few very dry years every now and then, which makes it challenging when planting long-term.
wow so many flowers better enjoy them now in a month the show will be over until next year.
Thanks Roberta. The show will go on until October 3rd and next year it will be somewhere else and this area will become a public park. 😃
You should definitely get that chair, it looks fab. Nice to get fresh ideas and be out and about again!
Yes, the purchase of one of those chairs is being looked into…. 😉
What a beautiful horticultural show and I can see why you’d come away very inspired! It must have been a truly delightful day, and I can see why you’d like to return before the end of the season. After a year where we were denied some of these pleasures, there’s a lot of time to make up! 🙂
Precisely. And I fear we will be locked in again in the winter so I am going to make the most of this limited window of freedom!
Lovely views! My husband’s grandfather emigrated from Germany, and some of my ancestors did, too. We hope to make it over there within the next few years. Looks like a great show…thanks for the tour!
Hope you manage to visit one day Beth!
I’m so glad you ventured out with a friend to this beautiful show. I love all that color! Everything looks healthy and vibrant, too, and what fun to get ideas for home. That chair looks like a lot of fun. It probably molds comfortably to your form. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos, Cathy.
Glad to share Alys, especially as we have all had so few opportunities to see beyond our garden gates for so long! (I am going again next week, before the inevitable autumn restrictions begin.)
One of my great-grandfathers emigrated from Bavaria. It’s good to view what this beautiful area looks like and see a bit of the landscape behind your beautiful flower show photographs.
It is one of the prettiest areas of Germany. 😃 Thanks for visiting.