Posted on 14 Aug 2026

Gardens

We’re peeking over the fence into gardens around the world to explore their place in our lives today. This week, Simone's garden in Upper Austria.

I live with my family, two cats and a dog in a small village in Upper Austria. The garden is the heart of our home: 4,000 square metres, surrounded by a lush hedge. It’s a haven for many birds and insects.

I love planting hardy perennials, biennial flowers, roses, lilies, irises, hostas and wildflowers – anything that brings colour and life. There are also plenty of climbing plants.

Fruit trees and vines provide shade, and our vegetables grow all year round in the polytunnel.

The different areas in the garden were not planned beforehand but emerged over time. We started off with the desire to have a vegetable garden, fruit trees and a hedge surrounding the garden rather than a fence so as to provide home to insects, birds and small animals.

At some point we found we could make good use of the plenty of groundwater and so I added the pond and granite basins with fountains.

Over the years I then discovered my love for herbaceous perennials and so I complemented the garden with many such arrangements.

It’s still a journey and I look forward to developing my garden further. For me, this place is more than just a plot of land. It’s my paradise. A place to grow, find peace and recharge my batteries.

Follow along with our #GMInYourGarden series on Instagram to see more @gardenmuseum

Follow Simone: @verliebt_in_kunst