| Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan | |
|---|---|
 Garden entrance | |
| Type | Trial garden, teaching garden |
| Location | Weihenstephan, Freising, Bavaria, Germany |
| Area | Over 5 hectares |
| Created | 1947 |
| Designer | Richard Hansen |
| Administered by | Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science |
| Open | 1 April to 31 October, 9:00 to 18:00[1] |
The Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan (German pronunciation: [ˈzɪçtʊŋsɡaʁ.tən]; lit. 'Viewing Garden' or 'Sighting Garden') is a teaching and trial garden maintained by the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science in Freising, Germany. It is, according to English horticulturist Noel Kingsbury, the leading institution of its kind in Europe.
The Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan was founded in 1947 under the leadership of horticulturist Richard Hansen. It is used for testing the suitability of plants, chiefly herbaceous perennials, for cultivation in gardens and urban green spaces as well as their mutual compatibility and planting design possibilities. The garden displays contrasting and harmonious color schemes as well as monochromatic herbaceous borders, but is chiefly notable for researching and displaying Hansen's philosophy of designed plant communities, which calls for matching plants with those from the same habitat type. Low-maintenance and drought-tolerant compositions are particularly emphasized.