Wie verwandele ich meinen Garten/Balkon/Terrasse in ein grünes Paradies? - Ein Interview.

Endlich wieder Frühling! Ich liebe den Frühling. Auch, weil jetzt wieder die Gartensaison beginnt. Liebend gerne würde ich euch jetzt allen offenbaren, wie man mit wenigen Mitteln und wenig Geld ein dunkles Loch in einen Traumgarten verwandelt, aber wer mir auf Instagram folgt, weiß, dass bei uns der Traum von Garten noch eher work in progress ist. Deshalb möchte ich euch heute den Menschen vorstellen, der mein großes Vorbild in Sachen Gärtnern ist und der auf kleinem Raum eine absolut traumhafte grüne Oase erschaffen hat, wo man ganz wunderbar die Seele baumeln lassen kann - Meinen Papa! Seit meine Eltern im Jahr 2009 in ein neues, kleineres Haus gezogen sind hat mein Papa den kleinen, ummauerten Innenhof in ein wahres Paradies verwandelt - Ich kann es einfach nicht anders sagen. Wenn wir im Frühling bis Spätsommer meine Eltern besuchen, verbringen wir mehr Zeit im Garten als im Haus. Blumen, Kräuterkübel, duftende Rosen, aber auch Säulenobst und ein kleines Gewächhaus gibt es hier, sodass das Gärtchen nicht nur etwas für's Auge, sondern auch für den Magen ist. Gestriegelt und mit dem Lineal gezogen ist hier nichts, aber dafür unglaublich charmant.

Ich habe da mal nachgefragt. Wie er das geschafft hat, was wir tun müssen, um auch so eine wild-romantische Oase in unserem Garten, auf der Terrasse oder unserem Balkon zu schaffen, und vor allem - wo und wie man da am besten anfängt.
Los geht's!

Stell dich kurz vor.

Ich heiße Michael, 59 Jahre alt, und im Handwerk tätig. Aufgewachsen bin ich auf dem Lande in einem großen Haus, mit einem sehr großen Garten. Dieser wurde wegen der Versorgungslage in der DDR und unserem geringen Haushaltseinkommen intensiv als Nutzgarten bewirtschaftet. Da mussten auch wir Kinder früh ran und mithelfen. Das machte uns Kindern und Jugendlichen oft keinen Spaß. Besonders Umgraben und Unkraut jäten waren sehr unbeliebt. Das war auch einer der Gründe, warum ich meine 1. Lehre weit weg von Zuhause begann. Erst später fing ich wieder an im Garten meiner Mutter mit zu helfen. Anfangs habe ich mich um das Obst gekümmert. Wenn man Interesse an der Natur hat und die Vorgänge beobachtet sieht man schnell, welche Eingriffe, welche Reaktionen hervorrufen. Außerdem ist Gartenarbeit ein guter Ausgleich für die Seele. So wurde Gärtnern zu meinem Hobby.

Was magst du am liebsten an deinem Garten -  worauf bist du am besonders stolz?

Am liebsten sind mir die Rosen. Wir haben uns vor dem Kauf im Internet schlau gemacht, welche Rosensorten duften, mehrmals blühen, wie groß werden und resistent gegen Krankheiten sind. Nach dem letzten milden Winter werden sie in diesem Jahr besonders üppig blühen. Und wenn der Sommerflieder blüht, flattern dort unzählige bunte Schmetterlinge umher.

In eurem Garten blüht immer irgendwas! Welche Pflanzen gehören für dich in eine schöne Blumenrabatte, die das ganze Jahr blüht?

Als erstes Frühblüher, also Blumenzwiebeln damit das Frühjahr gleich mit bunten Blumen beginnt. Gelbe Winterlinge, Schneeglöckchen, Märzenbecher, Krokusse, Tulpen, Narzissen. Das blüht schon bis in den Mai hinein. Man kann sich auch immer gute Ideen in Nachbars Garten oder anderswo holen. Niedrige Pflanzen vorne, hohe hinten.

Ein neues Haus, ein leerer Hinterhof. Der Traum von der Oase im Grünen. Wo fange ich an?

Beim Boden. Humus reinbringen (Mutterboden, Mist o.ä.). Im ersten Jahr dort Kartoffeln anbauen um das Unkraut zu bändigen und den Boden reifen zu lassen. Im Winter einen Plan machen. Informationen aus Büchern, Internet oder von Freunden holen. Bepflanzen, nicht zu eng, die Pflanzen wollen ja noch wachsen. Den freien Boden zwischen den Pflanzen mit Rindenmulch bedecken, damit er nicht austrocknet und mit Unkraut zuwächst. Dann, viel Geduld, gute Pflege und nach und nach das Traumziel ereichen. Sich an Ereichtem freuen und an anderer Stelle regulierend eingreifen. 

Hast du einige einfache Tipps, wie man seinen Hinterhof/Balkon/Terrasse ganz schnell grüner machen kann?

Am schnellsten geht es mit vorgezogenen Pflanzen der Saison in Töpfen, die man in Kübel oder Kästen mit guter Blumenerde umpflanzt. Düngen nicht vergessen! Entweder gleich für die ganze Saison beim Pflanzen mit Langzeitdünger oder später in regelmäßigen Abständen.

Wir haben ja nicht alle einen grünen Daumen. Gibt es schöne Pflanzen, die man selbst mit einem schwarzen Daumen nicht umbringen kann?

Da sind z.B. die guten alten Geranien und Petunien. Wenn die an einem sonnigen Plätzchen mit guter Erde, Dünger und ausreichend Wasser versorgt werden, hat man den ganzen Sommer Freude daran. Wichtig ist: Auch bei Regenwetter aufpassen, das die Erde genug Wasser bekommt. Das Pflanzgefäß muss unten einen Ablauf haben, damit überschüssiges Wasser abfließen kann.

In deinem Garten wachsen sogar Nutzpfanzen! Welche Tipps hast du für jemanden, der ‚Lebensmittel‘ auf kleinstem Raum anbauen möchte?

Das ist gut möglich. Ich habe z.B. Säulenbäume in meinem kleinen Hausgarten. Eine neuere Art der Obstbäume. Da kann man dann verschiedene Obstsorten auf kleinem Raum ernten. Das ist nicht die Menge, aber was zum Naschen. Sie müssen allerdings viel beschnitten werden. Man sollte sich da schlau machen.
Ich ziehe auch Tomaten, Rucola und Gewürzpflanzen in Töpfen, Kästen und Kübeln. Möglich sind auch z. B. Kartoffeln in Maurereimern (Löcher unten, nicht vergessen). Kleine Beerensträucher (am besten Hochstämmchen) sind auch möglich. Man sollte ruhig auch mal was ausprobieren, aber sich dann auch nicht von Misserfolgen abschrecken lassen.

Funktioniert das auch auf einem Balkon?

Sicher! Mehrjährige Pflanzen sind allerdings schwierig. Es könnte in Winter der Topfballen durchfrieren und die Pflanzen dadurch Schaden nehmen. Auch die Erde in den Gefäßen laugt aus und sollte ab und an erneuert werden.

Hast du Tipps für den extra Wohlfühlfaktor im Garten?

Ich denke, da sind die Geschmäcker sehr verschieden. Ich mags eher “wild romantisch”, also eher nicht so viele gerade Linien. Sonnen- und Schattenplätzchen sollten vorhanden sein. Auch Nistkästen und Insektenhotels bringen Leben in den Garten.

Danke für das Interview! Und jetzt auf in den Garten!

Birdseed Ornaments | DIY

Every winter, when I was a kid, my father would make birdseed feeders from clay flower pots which he filled with birdseed and lard, and put a stick in the center of the pot (for the birds to cling on while feeding). The feeders where then hung upside down into the tree in front of our kitchen window.
It's funny how these memories sometimes come back to us years later, isn't it? This year, however, I decided to revive this tradition and make my own birdseed ornaments. Partly because this is the first time since forever that I live in a place with a tree (or anything really) near my window to hang birdseed ornaments in.

The ornaments are very easy to make and take only like 10 minutes to make, if you don't count the cooling time. I added some fresh fruit to mine, because most birdseed mixtures don't but there are birds that feed from fruit rather than seeds and nuts. I thought my birdseed ornaments should have something for every bird. Aaand they also look way better than the versions you can buy in the supermarkets. Here's how it goes:

What you need:

muffin tin
fabric ribbons or fabric strips

birdseed (I used a mixture of this and this and so far the birdies seem to love it)
1 apple
1 orange
handful of cranberries
lard (coconut oil works as well, smells better, but is also much more expensive)

How it works:

1. Cut the fruits in tiny pieces. Mix the birdseed and the fruit in a large bowl. Tie the ends of the ribbons together to form loops. The larger the knot gets the better.

2. Fill the cups about halfway and then add the ribbons. It is important that a good length of the ribbon lies inside the cup to prevent the ornament from falling to the ground when the birds are pecking away the seeds.
Then add another layer of the birdseed and fruit mixture until the cups are full. Press the seeds down a bit with a spoon to make the ornaments more compact.

3. Melt the lard or coconut oil and fill the muffin tin cups carefully using a tablespoon until the cups are filled to the brim. Leave the ornaments to cool down for an hour and then pop the whole tin into the freezer for a few hours or overnight.

4. To remove the ornaments put the muffin tin, cover a few centimeters of your kitchen sink with hot water and put the muffin tin in. Remove the ornaments quickly and put them back into the freezer until you need them.

5. Hang the birdseed ornaments into bushes or trees!

12 green ideas for earth day

Earth Day is just around the corner. I think it's a great opportunity to get into loads of environmentally friendly project this week and maybe learn a thing or two how we can treat our earth a little better. I collected some simple ideas and projects you can try to celebrate our beautiful Earth this year.

1. Make colorful bowls
and containers from empty soap or shampoo bottles.

2. Plant an indoor garden.

3. Take a walk.
Enjoy the nature all around you, listen to the birds and the wind.

4. Clean naturally.
Learn how you can clean basically everything with natural products you already have at home.

5. Start a kitchen garden experiment
with food scraps. Grow your own pineapple tree! Entertaining and educational, not only for kids.

6. Make seed balls
and bring color to your neighborhood. Up for some guerrilla gardening? Drop seed bombs all around your city or town and watch flowers grow everywhere!

7. Make cute kitty planters
from old plastic bottles.

8. Make a round art gallery
from toilet paper rolls.

9. Recycle old t-shirts
into yarn and use it for a crochet or knitting project.

10. Plant a tree!

11. Transform a stack of old magazines
into a stylish stool. I know this one is to buy, but seriously, you can easily DIY it and safe a lot of money, too.

12. Host an Earth Day dinner.
Try to use only local and organic foods. The most delicious way to celebrate.

Golden Hour Gardening

We ran a little late with our weekly visit to the garden and were lucky to take a few pictures in the golden hour. The green stuff in my hands is our last harvest of arugula. I'm not very sorry about that, though. We're harvesting so much at the moment, we had to get a new freezer to be able to store it all and I've been really working on my housewife qualities spending my free time preserving stuff and making jams. I have to admit it feels great to see the shelves filling with preserved food.

Dream Green

Hey there! Remember how - not so long ago - I told you how much I wished to have my own garden one day and how it just wasn’t possible with the given circumstances? Sometimes your wishes can come true faster than you think! Only a few days after that post, Meine Ernte announced that they have a few parcels more to rent than previously offered.  I took that as a sign and a few minutes later I was a garden owner!
Meine Ernte is an organization that cooperates with local farmers who provide a small field which is then divided in parcels and offered to rent from May to November. We got a small parcel (2m x 22m) with about 20 different vegetables already sown and still room for our own seeds and plants. Read more on their website (German) if you’re interested. It’s an amazing project and a perfect fit for our situation: It’s great for beginners. There’s a weekly newsletter that tells you what you should be doing in your garden right now and how your plants should look. You pay per season so it’s payable even for students. You are never alone, there’s always someone there you can ask for help or advice. You don’t need to buy expensive gardening tools, because it’s all included in the deal.
We are psyched about our new garden! We planted some tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and cauliflowers on the free space. I love how much the plants grow every week and I can’t wait to harvest something that I grew in my own garden! Maybe we’ll be able to bring the first radishes home later today.
The pictures are from our first weeks in our garden. You can see there’s a lot of brown and only some green in the pictures, but we’re pretty convinced that will drastically change in the weeks to come. I’ll keep you posted.

Ha! That picture cracks me up every time I look at it!

Already much greener after only 3 weeks! It's amazing how fast these things grow!

Flowers that used to live on my window sill. They look so much happier outdoors!

We drove an electric car! A trip to my favorite plant nursery

Hey friends! A while ago in the car on our way back from my parents’ house, the boyfriend and I started talking about electronic cars and how far they’ve come in the past few years. Both being soon-to-be-scientists we really went deep into the topic, even did a quick calculation of fuel versus power costs for a 500km distance (That’s how far an electric car can get you with a full battery). I don’t want to bore you but the difference is huge! We discussed it for a while - he liked the technology and I liked the eco-friendliness - but we both thought that an electric car might really be an option for us in the future.
We didn’t think about that topic any more until only a few weeks later I was offered to try out the new Citroën Multicity Carsharing project: the first car sharing service in Berlin that uses only 100% electrical cars. And of course I said yes! It’s one thing to dream about maybe having an e-car in the future, but another to drive one right now.

So this post is about our little adventure with the e-car, but only driving around and then telling you guys what we thought about it wouldn’t be very creative, so we made this post also about my favorite local plant nursery, which is soooo pretty and one of my favorite places in Berlin.


Getting a customer card to be able to open the cars was easy peasy since there’s a customer center right next to where I work. The app told us where we could find the next car and we didn’t even have to walk far to get there. We needed a while to figure out how on earth we get the car to open with the customer card! But then we drove! There are a few things that are really different with e-cars. There’s no noise from the engine. You turn the key and you’re expecting the WROOOOM of the engine – but there’s nothing. No sound at all. It’s strange at first but you get used to it very quickly. I thought it feels a bit like you’re sitting in an oversized (remote-controlled) toy car. A nice side effect of the missing engine sound: you can actually listen to the radio and understand stuff, even on the autobahn!

We chose our favorite plant nursery as our destination, because we had planned to do some plant shopping for our home for a while and this seemed to be the best chance to not have to carry everything home.
We found the nursery just a few months ago and it’s been my favorite place in Berlin since then. The place is huge and filled with thousands of colorful pretty flowers and plants. I spend a whole day just walking through the green houses and taking in the colors and smells. If there’s anything I would call my happy place, that would be it.

I peeked through one of the flower shelves and found those cute parrots in a cage in the room behind them!
At the end of the day we were glad we had the car, because once I started picking out my favorite plants, it's hard to stop! I had quite a collection in the end. Too bad we forgot to buy this cute orange flower-succulent-plant-thing (first picture of the plant nursery) so I already have a reason to go there again!

If you're interested in our opinion, here are a few things that we thought about the Citroën Multicity Carsharing and about driving an electric car:

• The cars are everywhere in the inner city. No long walks if you need one. It’s really easy! If you're living not that central, like we do, you might have to take the S-Bahn or a bus to get there, so for us, the next car is not so much 'just around the corner', so less spontaneity here. I'm counting on a bigger operation area in the near future! Same thing for the problem of having to end the trip in the operating area.
• As it’s just “borrowed” for a while, you don’t have the responsibilities you’d have with your very own car like refueling/charging, insurances and stuff. You don’t even have to buy a parking ticket. Thumbs up for that.
• It’s so ecofriendly! The cars have no CO­₂ emission whatsoever! No bad feelings for turning our backs on public transport from time to time.
• You can take friends. The cars have room for four people at a time.

We had a lot of fun driving around the city. I would use the Citroën Multicity Carsharing service for spontaneous trips with friends, shopping at IKEA (Because you never leave empty handed, and carrying that stuff home… uuuh.) or plant shopping in our case, a sightseeing trip when friends are visiting, getting home from the movies at night. Sometimes having a car at hand can make things a lot easier.

If you would like to try it out, too (just really want to drive an electric car) you can click the link below and get

a free registration and 60 minutes travel credit!

(offer expires  30.05.2014)

Do you have experiences with e-cars? Even if you have never tried it I'd really like to hear your oppinion. Would you consider buying an electric car in the future? And what do you think about the different car sharing services in Berlin or where you live? Tell me what you think!

Garden Fun

Every time I’m visiting my parents who live two hours away in a beautiful small town, spending time in their garden is one of my favorite things to do. Having my own garden and growing my own food is one of my dreams I have for the future. Living in the biggest city in Germany in an apartment without even a balcony makes this dream practically impossible at the moment. Gardens can be quite an expensive endeavor in the city. The more I enjoy working in my parents garden and dreaming of my own in the future. Best thing about it is the big bag full of vegetables that I can take home with me! There’s just nothing better than preparing a meal with good stuff from the garden. I swear it tastes better than anything you can buy in the store!
Only 5 years ago I would have never thought I would be interested in gardening work, but now I just love digging in the dirt! Funny how dreams and priorities change when you get older.