Who is karl foerster

He loved perennials especially, striving for garden beauty for all seasons. One particular one caught his eye so much that he stopped the train he was on just so he could get off and dig it up.

This plant was a tall graceful grass, hidden away on the side of the tracks. Foerster was somewhat of a plant genius, having successfully crossed over breeds of perennials from all over the world. His particular favorites were the clumping grasses Thus the karl foerster grass , Phlox, and Delphinium. Karl Foerster was a man of courage and determination as well. Having survived with his greenhouse through the great depression and World War 2, even having the courage to hire his Jewish friends as staff despite the risks.

Truly a great man. And also a great plant. Karl Foerster reed grass is a classic. A plant no gardener can go wrong with. Despite the house and garden being declared a national monument in , they became increasingly run-down.

The restoration of the garden became a government priority, and major reconstruction and re-planting were completed in time for the Potsdam Bundesgartenschau Federal garden show.

Marianne Foerster died in ,. The garden itself is small 0. But it is the Senkgarten Sunken Garden that draws the eye, and the shock of seeing a garden that is from the same period as Sissinghurst but is uncompromisingly modern makes the latter look uptight and fussy in comparison.

It raises the question how we British can have been so parochial and inward looking as not to have taken on board German garden developments in the s and 30s? Today, although the garden has a much higher profile in Britain, it is the perennial and grass planting of the Senkgarten that gets all the attention, whilst the equally large Steingarten The Stone Garden to the opposite side of the house is ignored. We still choose to forget the s fashion for rock gardens.

Although Karl loved plants, he was especially drawn to tough, low-maintenance, hardy perennials. Karl used three factors to determine whether a plant would be sold in his nursery: beauty, resilience, and endurance.

When he turned 24, Karl moved his nursery to Potsdam. There, Karl married a singer and pianist named Eva, and together they had one daughter. Yet, Karl never pollinated flowers by hand. He wanted nature to reign supreme. Today, Karl Foerster grass is a recognized staple in many gardens and landscapes.

The story goes that Karl was on a train when he spied the grass along the tracks. To seize the chance to collect the specimen, Karl pulled the emergency brake, stopped the train, and then quickly collected the specimen that now bears his name. Karl Foerster grass was the Perennial Plant of the Year in And, Overdam is a variegated version of Karl Foerster grass. A Karl Foerster garden had some signature plants: grasses, delphinium, and phlox.

Karl once wrote,. Karl was an excellent speaker and writer. To his peril, Karl kept his Jewish friends employed all through the war.