We have made peace with the US, but the memories are still very sad.

Vy Thi Tuan Nguyen in her garden

My childhood was heavily influenced by the war. We didn’t have any electricity, only oil and it was difficult for us to do our homework, since between 1964 and 1975 everyday life was constantly interrupted by the bombs. It had been going on for 11 years. I saw so many dead people. We all had to flee to the south of Vietnam, there was only one street towards the Cambodian border and the border to Laos. We all had to carry all our possession on our back and any of us were injured, but there was not enough medical care. And there were constant bombing raids on that particular street as they tried to kill us. A splinter found its way into my head. Nowadays, of course, we have made peace with the US, but the memories are still very sad, since I lost so many friends during the war. It’s still painful. Whenever I feel unwell because of the memories I go to my garden, it’s like a therapy, it makes me feel better. Also, it’s good to have some company here, you always meet people. You can talk a little and get to know each other a bit, and if you are sad it cheers you up. Sometimes we cook and eat together, it’s a nice community out here.

Vy Thi Tuan Nguyen, Vietnamese, Wuhlegärten

Invisible Twinning tree at Hand in Hand

inside the garden house, too much rain outside

rita and thomas busse, the nicest gardeners ever!

gayle installing her apple tree

writing memories on food

paprika

creating an ideal garden

the outcome

giulia giannola, Kochzeiten (Cooking Times), video installation

Kochzeiten (Cooking Times), video installation, Parzelle 3, Hand in Hand

enjoying the installation tree

a german must: kohlrabi!

gayle explaining Invisible Twinning project

Invisible Twinning tree, Parzelle 3, Hand in Hand

48 Stunden Neukölln | Garten nr.3

Gayle Chong Kwan's, Potato, Collage, 2011

We have got card, paper, scissors and glue... join us and create your own ideal garden!

This weekend Invisible Twinning is attending 48 Stunden Neukölln and will create maquettes of ideal gardens. 
Everybody can partecipate! 
We are waiting for you!


Or do you have a secrete recipe to tell us? We will shot a video of you!

Hand in Hand, Rütlistr. 8, 12045 Berlin

Garden nr.3
Sa 18 Juni 14:00 — 20:00
So 19 Juni 12:00 — 18:00

program 2011 Hand in Hand

Neuer Garten auf dem Tempelhofer Feld und Gemeinschafts Garten im Bethanien

If I knew that the wall wouldn’t be there one day, I would probably never have left Poland

Irena Roman's garden

I come from Upper Silesia that is now a province of Poland. When I was 15, during a school trip to Vienna, I left my classmates and escaped. Then it was so extreme to be in the regime, that I found the heart to leave my family. I must say that if I knew that the wall wouldn’t be there one day, I would probably never have left Poland. So now in my garden I have a beautiful cherry tree, it is the only one tree in the colony and I inherited it from the man who had my garden before I got it, after he died. He had three children and he planted a tree for each child: an apple, a cherry and a plum tree, so the trees on my plot of land have a specific meaning, a family meaning, not of my family but of a family.

Irena Roman, Poland, Hand in Hand, Bezirksverband Berlin-Süden der Kleingärtner e.V.

The development of allotment gardens actually began as long ago as 1901

In Berlin, the development of allotment gardens actually began as long ago as 1901, when the farmers associations and the ‘gardens of the poor‘ joined together and formed an alliance. However, the concept of allotments has existed much longer than that. The first German allotment was created in Kappeln an der Schlei in Schleswig-Holstein around 170 years ago. Nowadays, an important aspect of allotments is mostly their strong social dimension since members can participate actively in the life of the association. They can relax and enjoy the beauty of the gardens, hence the low fences so that everyone can really see the flower fields of the others. Also the factor of helping those people with little money, since there are some who have to live on Harz IV or who live at the poverty level, still partially remains. And finally, the health aspect plays an important role, since the obligation to look after the garden has a positive effect on body and soul.

Peter Ehrenberg, German, chairman of Landesverband der Gartenfreunde Berlin e. V.