Mini-landscapes “This is how it used to look around here,” says the neighbour as he cast his eyes across the last remaining field in this residential area. The farmer’s son recalls that the fields used to be much smaller; in the past, you could have fitted three of them into this piece of land. In the 1970s, after the farmland had been reorganised, wide fields like these were a familiar sight around Oldenburg. They are far easier to work. The tractors don’t have to turn as often, so the job gets done more quickly. But Bloherfelde has followed a different pattern, he explains, as he points to the new builds, where box trees, yews and rhododendrons are forming mini-landscapes. The shrubs and trees that stand in regimented rows in the nurseries in Ammerland burst into glorious splendour when replanted here. The sandy soil, combined with peat and manure, provide perfect conditions for rich growth. He gets annoyed by so-called ‘bad weather’ forecasts that predict rain. Oldenburg is so fertile precisely because it rains so much! The farmer’s son enjoys working in his garden. He does everything by hand – except mowing the grass. “Well,” he laughs, “it saves me the expense of joining a gym.”