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The Baroque-style garden of the 15th-century English Palace of Augsburg was created in the 19th century. However, last year’s drought affected plants here, including boxwood, so this year they decided to make it climate-resistant.
The estate, which is managed by the National Trust, experienced the longest drought in its history between the summer of 2022 and May this year. Master gardener Dia Fisher the BBCHe said they will grow plants that can tolerate the dry, open environment well.
Created in 1848, the French Garden undergoes a major renovation every 30-40 years, when the vegetation is replaced. The last such work was in 1972. One major change will be that boxwoods are threatened by fungal infections, so they will be replaced by small-leaved Japanese goat gum, also evergreen.
The selection was preceded by a two-year trial in Augsburg, during which three potential species were tested. According to Fisher, the goat chewing was able to tolerate the sandy soil, the drought, and the open area here.
A total of 6,000 new plants will arrive in the palace’s baroque-style garden in spring 2024, which will be propagated at the National Trust’s Plant Preservation Centre. In addition, the annual plant stock of 7,000 perennials will be replaced. Fisher chose types that reflect the colors of the Bedingfeld family, who have owned Oxburgh Palace for more than 500 years. The centerpiece will feature the traditional red bowl, too, with red geraniums, which local records say have been grown in Augsburg since Victorian times.
