One of the most beautiful and scariest sites on the internet is the “Gärten des Grauen” Facebook group.
For years, a biologist has been collecting photos of front gardens that are sealed with slabs, concrete or gravel in such a way that not even a blade of grass can peek out of the cracks.
The pictures, so funny as to cry, are strange documents of a misunderstood love of order that spreads wherever nature can be pushed back.
This form of German sadness has more than just anecdotal character, it has a system.
Here the evolutionary and Christian-certified idea lives on that man must subdue the earth.
In times of climate change, however, the word "man-made" has acquired a completely different connotation.
Between ornamental gravel and coarse gravel fields
Hence the anger at the aesthetic and ecological impertinence of ornamental gravel and coarse gravel fields, which can only be dealt with through garden satire.
Or by law: Gravel gardens are already forbidden in some federal states.
A speaking symbol of this corruption of nature are the gabions that can be seen everywhere today.
The wire baskets filled with gravel may still pass as a noise protection wall - as an adornment of the property line they are a disaster.
In the past, bastions served as shot catchers.
Today, the proud homeowner uses it to signal that he wants to isolate himself from the public eye - and that he doesn't give a damn whether there are bushes that house insects or stone cages that also let out the heat of the day hand over.
Economic miracle and feasibility mania have also recoded the perception of the environment in Germany.
While architectural modernism was still concerned with meaningfully combining architecture and nature, this idea was lost in the 1960s.
The cities soon became crowded.
Concrete brutalism made the buildings chunkier, the spaces between them smaller.
Life in the city was only evaluated according to functional criteria.
What was neglected: that you really want to live there.
Gardens and rivers against oppressive humidity
It is becoming particularly clear these days.
The cities expect people to be cramped, noisy and heat.
You notice it when you walk from downtown Munich to the English Garden or sit down in a café on the Main in Frankfurt.
The temperatures drop immediately, a breeze drives away the oppressive humidity, and the stress of the city with the ever-dense quarters falls away.
Quite apart from the fact that the color green is good for the eyes.
The cities urgently need cooling.
Because despite many reports about the beautiful country life, urbanization is progressing.
In 1950 less than a third of the world's population lived in cities; by 2015 it was more than half.
In Germany it is already three quarters of all residents.
The abolition of the home owner allowance at the end of 2005, the reduced commuter allowance and of course the congested streets meant that even more people moved to the cities.
That's a good thing, because it at least slowed down the increasing urban sprawl and the growth in traffic areas.
The urban densification with building extensions and block perimeter development makes sense because it reduces the amount of space consumed.
In view of the climate catastrophe, however, you can now see what went wrong.
Whether in Cologne, Berlin or Hamburg: the cities are overbuilt
Whether in Cologne, Berlin or Hamburg: Despite the many green areas, the cities are built over, the parking lots are tarred instead of grass pavers or at least drainable eco-paving.
And on Saturdays you really see people in front of their houses scraping the weeds out of the pavement joints instead of simply letting herbs grow.
The Germans' overzealous love of order has devastating consequences.
The retreat areas for biodiversity, already limited by agriculture, are becoming even smaller.
The risk of flooding on the rivers is increasing because the water does not seep away but drains away quickly.
And the natural cooling is missing.
After all, Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) has now reacted.
On Thursday she announced that she would support projects for street and facade greening and the establishment of inner-city rivers and streams.
But 176 million euros for climate resilience is just a drop in the bucket.
The federal, state and local governments cannot regulate everything.
Therefore, every house builder and city dweller should ask themselves: Does everything in Germany always have to be built on, concreted, asphalted, paved immediately?
Why can't you just green walls and roofs?
In the not too distant future, such questions will be looked back on with astonishment.
Our cities must become greener.
And really everyone should take part.