The landscape architect, the nuns, and the forest of the future

The landscape architect, the nuns, and the forest of the future

“This is what we’ve done for many hundreds of years,” says Abbess Monika Thumm, the head of Kloster Mariazell – a convent on the postcard-pretty north shore of Lake Zürich. She is explaining how her Catholic order of Cistercian nuns place a bean in a box to cast their vote when making decisions. “White is yes and black is no,” adds fellow nun Sister Andrea Fux, opening the drawer that reveals the outcome. “Every monastery has a box like this.” Each result is duly archived. 

Fifteen years ago, the voting method was called upon when the community was approached about leasing a neighbouring piece of land to Italian landscape architect Enzo Enea. The bean count tipped to “yes”, recalls Abbess Monika, a sprightly 70-year-old, who joined the convent in 1984. “We were very enthusiastic about his proposal. It’s a beautiful use of the land.” The nuns welcomed their “green neighbour”.

Enea and his landladies have since struck up a charmingly harmonious relationship – one of friendship and collaboration. When the convent church was renovated in 2010-11, for instance, Enea redesigned the gardens, which are both pretty and easy to maintain, producing a steady flow of cut flowers, herbs to make teas and tinctures, and