The garden as a place of escape in a time of social crisis and economic uncertainty? And yet it is and remains a pipe dream, especially for many city dwellers. In the September issue, we ask: How can gardens be rethought in urban contexts in order to offer the general public access to green oases? We look not only at private but also public garden initiatives that combat social inequalities.
The eleven projects we present in this issue show that gardens are not only to be found on private residences. At Heidegg Castle in the Swiss canton of Lucerne, for example, koepflipartner landschaftsarchitektur redesigned a historic rose garden. You can read about the process and the result
You can read more about ten other projects from page 12 onwards. Cover photo: Dieter Ruckstuhl; Illustrations: Georg Media
Peaceful moments
As social tensions and economic uncertainties continue to transform the global landscape in 2025, the garden – whether private, public or communally tended – remains a space of escape and tranquillity. For many of us, especially in urban environments, a garden is more than just a place for plants: It becomes a pipe dream that reminds us of healthy, peaceful and bonding moments. But in the face of increasing urbanization and a shortage of space, the question remains: How can we democratize the garden? How can such oases become accessible to as many people as possible instead of being reserved for a privileged few?
Between climate resilience and biodiversity
In this issue, we therefore focus on the garden as a key discipline of landscape architecture and present eleven extraordinary garden design projects. These include a historic rose garden that has been transformed in a contemporary way and supplemented with perennial plantings. Or a newly created private garden next to a bungalow from the 1950s. As well as the gardens around – and on – two urban residential buildings in Zurich. The range of projects is wide and shows what is possible in gardens – and what they can contribute to climate resilience, biodiversity and social participation.
Meeting place concept
In this issue, we also discuss innovative approaches to designing and sharing gardens in urban spaces. An exciting movement is already emerging here, driven by urban initiatives, social projects and creative spatial concepts that work specifically against social inequality. Gardens are not only conceived as green islands, but also as meeting places that promote exchange, community and resilience. In this interview, sociologist Christa Müller from the anstiftung tells us about the urban gardening movement in Germany – while plant planner Sonja Schwingesbauer gives us an insight into her own garden and talks about the role and importance of plant planning.
You can look forward to a particularly colorful issue of G+L.
The magazine is available here in the store.
You can pre-order this year’s StadtSpezialhere.
In our August issue, everything revolved around the topic of future space. Read more about it here.