Maybe you’ve already noticed: our cities are getting greener – and that’s not just due to the local landscaping offices. Many citizens are now campaigning for the planting of the gardens, roofs, fallows, and balconies of their city. Become part of the urban gardening movement!
If you look at the image of a city in your head, you will not immediately come across flowers, trees, and gardens – but rather streets, buildings, traffic, and people. The city offers many more opportunities than you think.
Gardening together: community gardens
Community gardens are colorful oases in the concrete deserts of the ever-growing and anonymous cities. They are open to the public, run collectively and are often “occupied” by surrounding residents and garden fans in the city. The focus of such an initiative is the idea of intercultural gardening and the need to harvest your own healthy food. No one has to start as a garden professional. On the contrary: you try and exchange yourself, work physically and escape the everyday life of the city.
In addition to community gardens, which are more or less legally “taken” by the neighborhood, there are also churches, political groups, and schools involved in such projects.
This type of garden is not a new phenomenon. Since the 1970s, there are “community gardens” in New York City; For about 10 years in various cities of Germany. Especially in Berlin, the community gardens sprout out of the city floor.
The intercultural garden Bunter Garten Buchholz eV in Berlin for example 2000 m² in size and is currently used by garden friends from Vietnam, Mongolia, Sweden, Italy, Serbia, and Germany. There is plenty of communal space with a herbal spiral, a pond, a fountain with pump and everything the green heart desires.
Another example is the neighborhood initiative Rosa Rose, which has been through a lot since its existence in 2004. After their first location on Kinzigstraße was forcibly evicted since 2009 the Rosa Rosen have been tilling their new location on the Jessner area in Friedrichshain. On every 7th of the month, the club meets for discussing, working, organizing, building, making plans, planting, watering, eating cakes, etc.
We provide information on many other national projects and offers the opportunity to exchange views on urban agriculture, intercultural and community gardens, nature conservation and alternative gardening.
Think three-dimensional: gardens on roofs, balconies and in front of the window
The dream of having your own garden can now be realized with hanging and foldable devices even in the smallest of spaces: Many plants do not require much room in the horizontal, they also grow vertically. In addition to house walls, hanging gardens are suitable for fences and columns. “Vertical Garden” is the name of the space-saving alternative to the flat garden. Lilli Green collects ideas about urban gardening.
But not only open spaces in the city are suitable for collective garden projects. Flat roofs occupy huge areas of the city and are mostly gray and unused. Forgiven stability and drainage, a flat roof can also be planted and used.
Whether in the city or in the country, on the terrace, the balcony or in the front yard. Almost everywhere there are opportunities for the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. A good reference book for the organic gardener with little space: Manual organic balcony garden
Herboponics provides detailed information about roof gardens. In addition, you can join the Community Roof Garden Community Berlin, which is committed to a “big city jungle”.
Learn even more about green cities in our trading article for guerrilla gardeners!
Tips for environmentally conscious balcony gardeners and garden owners
- Most conventional balcony flowers have traveled widely and are therefore quite useless to our domestic insects. By contrast, a wild-flowered balcony is a feeding ground, a nesting opportunity and winter quarters all in one, thus supporting biodiversity around the house. Tips and other topics around garden and balcony planting gives the NABU: balcony and garden
- Whether in the city or in the country, on the terrace or on the balcony, or in the front yard. Almost everywhere there are opportunities for the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. A good reference book for the organic gardener with little space: Manual organic balcony garden
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Peat belongs in the bog and not in flower boxes and gardens. Because peat extraction destroys the most species-rich ecosystems. Most flower shops and hardware stores also offer peat-free potting soil. Other alternatives can be found here: No peat in the garden
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Manuals are not enough for you? Direct help and advice on the transformation or planning of your garden you get at organic gardening.