"2025's Neon Agenda"
The city of Neuss, Germany, recently organised a garden competition with a focus on climate-friendliness, regional relevance, ecological diversity, and the avoidance of concrete. The competition, titled "New Green 2025", was held in collaboration with the Neuss State Garden Show 2026 GmbH.
The competition aimed to raise awareness about the potential of gravel-covered urban areas in promoting climate-resilient and biodiverse design. It encouraged the design of gardens that adapt to changing climate conditions, promoting plants, trees, and unsealed surfaces to cool the surroundings, improve water absorption, and create habitats for native animals and plants.
At the award ceremony held on July 7, 2025, several gardens were recognised for their outstanding efforts. Mrs. Lerch's garden secured first place in the "General Gardens" category. Her climate-adapted garden featured a pond, a focus on drought resistance, and insect friendliness. Excess water from the pond is collected and used for climate-friendly watering. The garden also provides valuable habitats for animals, including hedgehog houses, nesting boxes, and an open property boundary.
Mrs. Behre secured second place with her garden, a green oasis with high plant diversity and natural materials. Her garden allows almost complete infiltration and reduces heat. Simultaneously, the trees in Mrs. Freytag's garden offer a valuable habitat for numerous animal species. Her spacious garden, dominated by majestic trees, came in third place.
Unfortunately, no prizes were awarded in the special category "Front Gardens" due to insufficient entries. The submitted contributions were, however, included in the evaluation of the "General Gardens" category.
Jury member Joana Gasper presented her research project "ReGreen - Regreening of Gravel Gardens" at the award ceremony. This project will be on display at the 2026 State Garden Show in Neuss, which will continue to emphasise climate-friendliness and biodiversity in garden design. An area of 700 sqm is planned for the State Garden Show in 2026, to be greened with various innovative regreening measures using native, foreign, and regional plants.
Next year, the city of Neuss will host another garden competition, with further details to be announced in due course. For those interested in staying updated on such events, it is recommended to check the Neuss city official websites or local environmental organisations for announcements or press releases.
- The research project "ReGreen - Regreening of Gravel Gardens" by jury member Joana Gasper emphasizes the potential of urban gravel areas in fostering climate-resilient and biodiverse designs, similar to the focus of the "New Green 2025" competition.
- Environmental-science research and practices, such as those presented by Joana Gasper, play a crucial role in promoting sustainable lifestyle choices, incorporating climate-change awareness as seen in the garden competitions held in Neuss, Germany.
- In addition to individual residential gardens, the Neuss State Garden Show 2026 plans to showcase innovative regreening measures in a 700 sqm area, demonstrating the importance of home-and-garden design on a larger ecological scale, a topic touched upon during the "New Green 2025" competition.
