Gardening Group

When I first arrived in Switzerland 17 years ago, I didn't realise there were any beautiful private gardens here. I had seen the wonderful balconies rivalling the Hanging Gardens of Babylon with their colourful displays of geranium, petunias and fuchsia, but houses with gardens seemed such an English thing. I was wrong! In May and June, Heidi and Helga came up trumps yet again when they organised visits to two gorgeous private gardens for enthusiastic groups of ZIWA ladies.

How does chairlady Heidi find us such gems? She's a member of the Swiss Perennial Society for a start, and gets copies of such useful booklets as Open Garden Doors and Garten-Rendezvous, which list some of the private gardens that open on request for groups such as ours. The weather was perfect, the company was congenial and the locations were wonderful on these two recent visits by the Gardening Group.

First, in May we were indeed privileged to step inside the garden of the Honegger family in Zollikon. Former newspaper editor Andreas Honegger had designed this garden himself in a Mediterranean style, inspired by his wife who was born in north Africa. His family had lived in the house for a number of years, but it has taken 12 years for the garden project to come to fruition. The elegant old house was surrounded by the garden planted with azaleas, rhododendrons, citrus trees and an old olive tree. Pergolas, ponds, rockeries and climbing plants caught the eye. Did they employ a team of gardeners, we wondered? The couple answered all our questions about design and maintenance of the garden, for which they were solely responsible.


After we had explored all over the garden, noting the different varieties and the work involved, our hosts laid on refreshing drinks for us under the shady pergola. Our chairladies had baked cakes and fruit tarts to feast on, which were delicious. As we reluctantly took our leave, it was hard to believe that such an intricate scheme existed behind the garden walls.




In June, the group visited Lachen by the Zürichsee for an al fresco lunch beside the marina, before driving up to Galgenen to visit the home of English couple Colin and Heidrun West. Our hostess had spent 30 years planting this garden almost from scratch. Her special passion was roses and she had over 100 different varieties, all of whose names she knew. This garden was built on a hillside and therefore quite a challenge, but full use had been made of every bit of space. From Heidrun we learnt quite a few gardening tips: don't water the leaves of the roses in case of mildew, fertilise early but not too much, roses can be underplanted with ground cover plants to enhance the look of the border. Choose floribunda if you want lots of blooms, and choose old English roses for their scent. This garden consisted of different 'rooms' each with its own character, and the hidden compost heap was also a thriving concern.


After admiring all the planting, we also peeped inside a neighbour's garden with a more formal layout, before choosing greetings cards made from photos of the roses as a memento of our visit.

In July, our friendly chairladies are opening their own gardens to group members, which is bound to be a special treat.