Talk:Schottergarten

Note that Schottergarten (entry in the German Wikipedia) has a different meaning than English "gravel garden", rock garden or rockery, which refer to garden designs, using plants with plenty of stone material. A Schottergarten is mostly or completely devoid of plants, in order to have a tidy looking, low-maintenance outside area, especially in front yards. Usage is more like laying pavement, concrete or asphalt all over the area, actually more "anti-horticulture". Sometimes, a few ornamental plants, mostly topiary, remain.

There is also some confusing usage of other German words, like "Steingarten" (rockery) or "Kiesgarten" (gravel garden), which refer to special kinds of gardens, mainly those originating from Britain. The lifeless stone areas have sometimes been named as such, which is misleading.

The partial word Schotter has been used, because the rock material is often sharp-edged, crushed rocks, like those used for construction purposes, or as railroad track ballast. But Schottergarten now also refers to any kind of garden or yard space, where plant life has been replaced by mineral mulch of any kind, also rounded gravel, fine split or coarse riprap.

On rare occasions, the term Schottergarten has also been used for actual gardens, with specialized plants growing in the poor, rocky soil.

However, since the late 2010s, Schottergarten almost only refers to spaces with vegetation mostly or entirely removed. BBirke (talk) 16:57, 24 August 2020 (UTC)