The garden at Valepagenhof is a typical farm garden in the Paderborn region around 1900. The selection of plants is based on museum research. Flower beds are bordered by boxwood. Four round beds with roses of the variety “Petite de Hollande” demonstrate the desire for representation. Purely ornamental gardens were rare, shaded areas were usually used as front gardens. In villages, space was often limited, so additional garden land in the field area was used. In addition to well-known vegetables, rare herbs such as masterwort and pontic rue also grew here.
The garden of the Münsterland Gräftenhof is located on its own moat island and is a representative example of a garden from around 1800. The strictly geometric design with a central roundabout and hornbeam arbor follows Baroque models and also makes gardening easier. In addition to vegetables, tobacco, chicory, and medicinal plants such as wormwood were also cultivated. Historical sources such as herbariums and travelogues attest to the diversity of old cultivated plants. Boxwood was both an ornamental and a traditional plant. In the museum, boxwood has been replaced by Podocarpus due to boxwood dieback.
The baroque garden at Schönhof was laid out as a medicinal plant garden with the support of the Lippe Apothecary Association. The plants are arranged according to their areas of application, such as cardiovascular, stomach, sleep, or colds. This allows visitors to see at a glance which plant helps with which ailment. The signs use symbols to show which part of the plant is used. The garden illustrates the high value of herbal medicines – both then and now.
The garden at the rectory was primarily used for self-sufficiency and to provide flowers for the church and house. The design was based, in particular, on the diary of Pastor Scipio (1812–1897), who documented plants, varieties, and gardening work in detail. In addition to common species, he also cultivated forgotten vegetables such as palm kale and purslane, and bred the apple variety Scipios Reinette. The garden is clearly structured: vegetables, herbs, and flowers, bordered by boxwood and sandstone slabs. A tree yard completes the site.
