The Dyck Field, Rhine Westphalia, Germany

The Dyck Field

Rhine Westphalia, Germany 2009 RMP Landschaftsarchitekten www.rmp-landschaftsarchitekten.de

The Centre for Garden Art and Landscape Culture is based around the Schloss Dyck in Northern Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The castle, built in the seventeenth century is regarded as one of the most important cultural centres of the lower Rhineland. In the nineteenth century Prince Joseph zu Salm-ReifferscheidtDyck commissioned the Scottish landscape gardener Thomas Blaikie to fashion the land surrounding the castle in the style of the English landscape garden. The moated castle and the parkland is at the heart of an annual programme of public and private cultural and business activity. In the 1990s the Countess Marie Christine Wolff Metternich joined forces with the government of North Rhine-Westphalia to secure the future of the Schloss Dyck estate for the region. The key to this programme was the establishment of a viable, long-term foundation to conserve the Schloss Dyck as an important German historical monument. Since 2002 the funding and sponsorship secured by the foundation has been invested not only in maintaining and restoring the Schloss and the English garden but also in the development of extensive new gardens as part of the opening of the European Garden Network in 2006. An important part of the programme was the conversion of land previously used for agriculture into a contemporary park. The 25 hectare site is defined by a 200-year old chestnut grove that historically links the Schloss Dyck with the Convent St. Nicolaus (Figs. 2, 4). When Stephan Lenzen Landschaftsarchitekten of Bonn was commissioned to develop this important site he eschewed the temptation to use the traditional park as influence, choosing instead to find inspiration in the Rhinish use of land for agricultural. In doing so the Dyck Field’s designer utilises forward thinking; featuring vast beds of fast growing Miscanthus plant (elephant grass) (Figs. 1, 3) as the key crop surrounding 24 individually designed garden spaces. Lawns and linear paths of anthracite coloured slabs complete the quilt effect (Fig. 2). One of many ecological benefits to be gained from this choice of planting will be the use of the Miscanthus crop as a biomass fuel to fulfil the energy requirements of the Schloss Dyck.

Population | 22,379

Co-ordinates | 51°06’04”N 6°30’06”E

Elevation | 82 m (269’)

Precipitation | 758 mm (29.84”)

Temperature | Average High: 13 C (55 F) Average Low: 4.8 C (40.3 F)

Humidity | 60%

The European Garden Heritage Network (EGHN) led by the Schloss Dyck Foundation, links European cultural heritage assets with the sustainable development of cities regions and landscapes. A key initiative in fostering debate on this subject is the development of the ‘hybrid park’. The development of the Dyck Field is at the forefront of this concept and contributes its experiences in park and landscape management related to climate and tourism into the informed debate. The aspiration is that European best practice policies on green cities and urban development will emerge. At the heart of the Dyck Field hybrid landscape study is the Miscanthus biomass crop. With global climate change being firmly linked to the excessive combustion of fossil fuels, energy crops are seen as a potential path to reducing CO2 emissions. The fast growing cycle of Miscanthus giganteus draws down atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis. If the harvested crop is then used to generate power in efficient biomass furnaces the release of CO2 is balanced by the subsequent growing season without a net zero increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The growth pattern is repeated annually for the life of the crop. Many European governments now incentivise the use of land for growing bioenergy crops. Other benefits of the Miscanthus beds (Figs. 6, 8) are detailed as follows:

• A reduced requirement for fertilizers, as the rhizome system of the Miscanthus enables nutrients to be cycled seasonally to the plant portions above and below the ground. • A highly efficient use of available nutrients using the C4 photosynthetic pathway. • Improved soil and water management, with soil being retained by a fine root network and rainwater run-off slowed in winter by Miscanthus residual ground cover. • Additionally an RSPB study into wild bird population showed that the Miscanthus supports a much greater diversity of species when measured against a field of wheat of similar area. • Enhanced field cover for game birds and mammals.

By enhancing the Miscanthus planted zones with areas of themed flower gardens (Fig. 5) the whole spectrum of insect, bird and mammal occupation can be studied. An open field area of stone sculpture, ‘Ten Variations of a Block’ by artist Ulrich Ruckriem provides varied views and perspectives on the landscape (Fig. 7). The harvest from the Dyck Field provides an annual dry mass yield of approximately 200 tons, sufficient to meet the heating requirement of the castle.