Central Europe
Gardening in Germany
Colder winters and warmer summers the further east you go.
The numbers that decide your year
- Growing zones
- USDA 6a–8a · continental to maritime
- Last spring frost
- Mid May, after the Ice Saints
- First autumn frost
- Mid October
- Rainfall
- 700–900 mm, summer peak
The local challenge
Late frosts in May catch every optimist at least once.
Rules worth knowing
Kleingarten associations set planting rules including a minimum share of the plot for food crops; tree felling often needs permission.
How people actually garden here
- Kleingarten allotments
- Naturalistic planting
- Fruit meadows
- Rock gardens
Native to this country
Plants that evolved here. They ask least of you and give most back to local insects and birds.
Reliable in this climate
Introduced rather than native, but proven in these conditions. Each links to its full encyclopedia entry.
Seasonal jobs
Open the calendarThe calendar reads your device clock and orders every job for the northern hemisphere.
The printed guide
The Germany Gardening Guide
276 pages written for this country alone: its soil, its frost dates, its rules and the plants that reward the effort. Everything on this page, expanded and in your hands.
- Continental winters, warm summers
- The Kleingarten rulebook, explained
- Fruit meadow management
- Perennials for cold clay
- Composting through a freeze
- Sowing calendar by Bundesland
€9.95276 pages · PDF download