stone gardens banned in favor of lawn

In Germany, even those who live in the city have no choice but to garden. A family must remove the tons of gravel located in front of their house. Instead, they should plant grass, flowers or shrubs. Entire regions have banned residents from gardens made of gravel, on pain of a fine. Other cities offer the services of professional gardeners to help individuals.

In Hamburg (Germany), new constructions with gravel gardens are prohibited. Instead, greenery. “It gives food for insects, for bumblebees”, explains Ines Schwarzarius, representative of the SPD in Hamburg. Gardens with mandatory lawns would also cool the city during heat waves. They would also prevent flooding. “In the event of heavy rain, when everything is concreted, we have cellars, houses, entire streets flooded, whereas this type of garden allows water to infiltrate directly into the ground”argues the chosen one.