Founded in 1865 in the Elbe suburb of Nienstedten, the Hamburg tree nursery Lorenz von Ehren has already delighted court gardeners and garden lovers worldwide with its exotic giants. Today she tries to defy climate change with her trees.
by Wolfgang Klauser
In Hamburg, mature trees from the Lorenz von Ehren tree nursery can be found in many public green areas or private gardens:from the largest park cemetery in the world in Ohlsdorf to the Planten und Blomen park in the center and the city park in Winterhude. Some of the gnarled giants are over 100 years old. The private customer base includes aristocrats, merchants and shipowners:well-known dynasties such as von Jenisch, Laeiz, Blohm or Hagenbeck trust the range of exotic shrubs and old trees. The von Ehrens also supply their high-quality goods to the royal houses in England, Sweden, Denmark and Prussia, as well as to the palace gardens of Versailles and the Russian court of the tsars. From time to time a tree weighing several tons is shipped from Nienstedten to New York or Shanghai in a sea crate. Shipping is a logistical masterpiece, as the giant trees are very sensitive to transport.
The North of Germany becomes a stronghold of tree nursery art
The Hamburg area is considered to be the region of Germany from which modern tree nurseries emanated more than 200 years ago. At the end of the 18th century, on a tour of Scotland, the wealthy Hanseatic merchant Baron Caspar Voght was able to persuade the gardener James Booth to settle in Klein-Flottbek. The Scottish plant expert was to advise and support him in beautifying his country estate, today's Jenisch Park. First Booth looked after the so-called ornamental farm of the baron, from 1800 he ran the tree nursery on his own account.
The nursery James Booth &Sons developed over three generations into one of the most important tree nurseries, famous for its fragrant rose varieties:"In-house cultivation and propagation, but also research and worldwide trade contacts enabled the company to have an incredibly generous range of tradable plants and thus certainly promoted the Development of the gardens and parks on the banks of the Elbe," explains Heino Grunert, garden monument conservator at the Hamburg environmental authority.
The von Ehren Nursery:Rooted in Hamburg
Learn from the best. Johannes von Ehren did his training at James Booth's famous tree nursery.Johannes von Ehren I., son of a boatman, learned the trade of gardener in James Booth's famous tree nursery in 1847 and traveled through Europe during his apprenticeship. When the war with Denmark ended in 1865 and the Flottbek tree nurseries were flourishing, von Ehren founded his own business at Nienstedter Markt. At first he traded in potatoes, fruit and ornamental bushes. Exotic top fruits such as peaches, apricots and nectarines were in demand among wealthy Hanseatic clients. After the German Empire was founded in 1871, Hamburg also experienced a remarkable economic upswing, with construction going on everywhere, magnificent parks and private gardens springing up. The tree nursery benefits from the great demand for unusual and valuable plants. The largest order from the founding years comes from Hanover:5,000 pieces of hawthorn for the facilities in Herrenhausen, ordered by the master gardener Borchers.
New company premises are located between the rich Elbe suburbs
Since the tree nursery site, which is almost six hectares in size, quickly becomes too small, a new plot of land is bought on today's Kanzleistraße. The area is ideal for the tree nursery in terms of transport and from an economic point of view:The site is located in the middle of the rich Elbe suburbs, in front of the cities of Altona and Hamburg. In close proximity to the wealthy tree nursery customers. The exclusive goods can be shipped worldwide from the nearby Hamburg-Klein Flottbek train station.
Von Ehren specializes in specimen plants
Lorenz von Ehren I., the founder's son, begins his three-year gardener's training at the Forsteck tree nurseries in Kiel in 1883 at the age of 16. He then traveled across Germany, France and Belgium and collected ideas for the future direction of the family business, which he took over in 1898. He discovers the need for large trees for extensive landscapes and specializes in solitary plants. Due to their special growth habit, leaf shape and coloring, these plants can optically dominate a planting as a single specimen. The clientele is growing - from private park owners and famous landscape architects to royal court gardeners all over Europe. He leads the company to the top of Europe and wins countless prizes for exquisite hanging beeches, conifers and horse chestnuts at international horticultural exhibitions.
A forest for the Krupp family's hilltop park
Every hand is needed when transporting the giant trees. Also, like here, to get them through, for example, under interfering telegraph lines.In 1901 Lorenz von Ehren I also supplied the industrialist Freidrich Alfred Krupp with plants. When planning the extensive Hügelpark in Essen, Krupp expressed his precise ideas:he wanted to have "a forest of trees" that he could "enjoy while he was still alive". The time factor becomes the best seller of the tree nursery. The schooling of the large, old trees, their transport and the transplanting of the giant trees requires specialist knowledge of the gardeners and the strength of many workers' hands.
World Wars:Hard times in the nursery
The two world wars bring trade with foreign countries to a complete standstill. After the First World War, the von Ehren nursery had to make reparation payments with plants of all kinds. And the company is also struggling with the consequences of high inflation. Anything that cannot be sold will be destroyed. Only more valuable trees are further cultivated and grown into large solitaires - in the hope of better times. The next world war follows. From now on fruit and vegetable cultivation determine the tree nursery. Trees are only grown for camouflage purposes:the Hamburg aircraft hangar on Finkenwerder orders dense deciduous trees with a minimum height of 25 meters. They are transported on barges on the Elbe, unloaded on site using a special crane and planted in front of the large production halls as a privacy screen.
At that time, only women, old men who were not drafted for the front, and Russian prisoners of war were still working in the Lorenz von Ehren nursery. The tree nursery was largely spared from the bombardment. After the war, food is scarce. The British military therefore decreed that only vegetables should be grown on the nursery site.
Reconstruction and recovery in the post-war years
Both von Ehrens' third-generation sons survived World War II. Johannes and Lorenz II continue to run the business in the post-war period. The quarters in the tree nursery have to be completely rebuilt, but there are hardly any goods to buy in Germany. Trade with neighboring countries is only possible again from 1949, and with it the procurement of new plants. The two brothers travel to the USA to buy exotic and sought-after trees.
Plants for the first federal garden show in Hanover
In the beginning, it takes a lot of manpower to dig up or move trees. Today, machines do some of the work.In the 1950s things were looking up:as early as 1951, von Ehren was supplying plants to the first Federal Horticultural Show in Hanover, and in 1952 the first tractor was purchased for work in the tree nursery districts. The business flourished during the years of the economic boom and the company continued to expand.
"So, now it's your turn!":In 1970, the fourth generation takes over the management. Lorenz von Ehren III. takes care of sales and customer service, Bernd von Ehren manages shipping and develops more and more sophisticated machines. They make work in the tree nursery easier and even more effective. But both also have a good feeling for trends in garden culture:from the cultivation of hedge elements based on English gardens to the artistic pruning of garden bonsai based on Japanese models.
When plants and trees have to move
In 1993 the entire tree nursery moved from Nienstedten to Hamburg-Marmstorf. Thousands of plants and trees are laboriously transported through the Elbe Tunnel and then transplanted into the 17-hectare new quarters. The old tree nursery areas in the Elbe community are being renatured and integrated into today's Westerpark. This is followed by flagship projects such as the planting of Disneyland in Paris or the greening of the Federal Chancellery.
Wella heirs buy into Hamburg tree nursery
In 2013, the shampoo manufacturer Wella took over the majority in the traditional Hamburg company von Ehren. However, leadership remains in the hands of the family. Bernhard von Ehren is the fifth generation to run the tree nursery. With 600 hectares under cultivation and 200 employees at three locations, the company is one of the largest production tree nurseries in Europe. 500,000 trees and shrubs are cultivated and raised there. The Hamburg tree nursery still sells mostly large, old, special trees to wealthy clients and metropolises who don't want to wait "until an asparagus tarzan becomes a strong guy," says Bernhard von Ehren.
Von Ehren sells its customers "grown time"
The tree nursery of Ehren cultivates their partly exquisite trees and plants on 600 hectares.The care of the gnarled giants is complex. The trees have to be dug up every few years so that the roots do not reach too deep into the earth. The tree treasures have to be watered, fertilized, pruned, tended and cared for regularly for decades. The trees that Bernhard von Ehren sells today were planted by his grandfather. The trees he is planting today may be sold by his grandson one day. "We sell the time factor," says Bernhard von Ehren.
The Ehren Nursery defies climate change
The gardeners at the Lorenz von Ehren tree nursery have been observing people and their different preferences for gardens and parks since 1865. Because there are always trends and fashions when it comes to plants and trees, but there are also major challenges, such as climate change at the moment:Extreme drought, severe storms, massive pest infestation and the densification of large cities make it difficult for the established tree species to cope. The tree nursery is also required - in a special climate grove, Bernhard von Ehren is testing new types of trees that can survive in cities like Hamburg or Paris in the future or are suitable for green roofs. The project to green the former anti-aircraft bunker on the Heiligengeistfeld in the St. Pauli district is currently underway. The Lorenz von Ehren tree nursery supplies almost 5,000 plants and shrubs:"A new park is being built on the roof of this historic Hamburg bunker," says Managing Director Bernhard von Ehren. "A lighthouse project for climate change in the concrete urban jungle."