The adventure gardens in Mecklenburg-Schwerin

The Wangeliner Garten is a place where people love to linger. Birds chirp, the garden café offers tasty treats and there is so much to see and learn. The large garden complex in Buchberg near Lake Plau was opened in 1999. Many old, native plants such as comfrey and goutweed grow in the colorful gardens and no pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or peat are used. The garden's founders were ahead of their time back then and are very much in vogue today," says Jasmin. Markets, cinema evenings and concerts are held in the large garden, which is open daily from 10 a.m. from April to October. And if you want to spend more time in the gardens and on the grounds, you can spend the night in a very unusual way, for example in the barrel-shaped curved guest house made of straw bales and clay.

What would the General Garden Director of the royal Prussian gardens, Peter Joseph Lenné, have thought of such a natural garden? The man with the pointed eyebrows and impressive imagination shaped Prussian garden design in the first half of the 19th century.

The castle garden of the state capital Schwerin was also redesigned by Lenné at the time. Nevertheless, the austere baroque style of the original still prevails. The cross canal, the leafy paths, the symmetrical flowerbeds - they were all laid out almost 300 years ago by the French architect Jean Laurent Legeay, shortly before Duke Friedrich's entire court moved from the capital Schwerin to Ludwigslust. The fact that Lenné left the baroque garden elements alive here, in contrast to his usual style, is a blessing for visitors. The Prussian garden master mainly redesigned the areas of the former 150-hectare park further away from the palace, which can also be accessed at any time.

A part of this area is now a residential area. Nevertheless, this is where Braune feels most at home. On the hill in the southern castle garden, for example, from where you have a great view over the Faulen See lake.

From 2023, anyone who wants to discover the stories and special features of the grounds around the palace will also be able to do so on the garden guide app, Braune reveals.

Walking through the stately splendor of Schwerin Palace Gardens, it is easy to forget that there was also life outside the aristocracy at the same time. An impressive example of the bourgeois life of the time can be found just seven kilometers from the palace, behind the former village school of Mueß. There, on the grounds of the Mueß open-air museum, lies the village school teacher's garden between old willows, gnarled apple trees and colorful flowering plants. A teacher didn't earn much back then, so he was given a piece of land as compensation," explains gardener Maria Peters. She lovingly nurtures and cares for old Mecklenburg vegetable varieties and gives guided tours through the garden kingdom, which is open from mid-April to the end of October. Krügersche runner beans grow here, as do black salsify and variegated trout's tail, a spotted lettuce that has had its spots removed at some point.

The garden with access to Lake Schwerin lay fallow for a long time, but was replanted in 2000 on the basis of a book from 1888. The author, E. Gang, was a teacher and, in addition to recommendations on fruit and vegetable varieties, also gave helpful tips in his work, ranging from land reclamation to harvest yields.

Today, the garden is a glimpse into history, but also a place where gardening fans can take away old knowledge for the garden at home during guided tours and seminars. There are also typical cultural events such as the Low German Theater of the Mecklenburg State Theater, the Windros Folk Festival or the Folktanz auf Hufe IV.