At home we have always eaten very mixed food such as American mixed with French and a lot of Chinese...

When I was child we used sage for throat infections, also for the stomach, I think, or for digestion, thyme in any case and lavender, which there is quite a lot of in the south of France. I know that lavender is used for its calming effect, especially for children.

I cook myself a lot. At home we have always eaten very mixed food such as American mixed with French and a lot of Chinese... When I miss something, for example a good quiche or something like that then I cook it myself and the ingredients for it are easy to find. It's my favourite. You can throw everything in it, and it's always delicious with crème fraiche, eggs and emmenthal cheese. The classic quiche is also with diced bacon, then you make a Pâte brisée, it's like a dough, and then it can be with vegetables or meat. You can eat it cold and warm, but either way it is always delicious.

Pyramidengärten

I grew up in the countryside up to when I was 17 years old. We have always planted carrots, salad and vegetables there, but since I started traveling around I didn't really have the opportunity to grow things. Then I finally decided to leave Barcelona for Berlin because I wanted to improve my German and the city sounded romantic. This is the first garden where I think I will become a member and grow something. One day, I would love to have cherry trees.

Fredji Powell, French, Pyramidengärten

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.

Once I tried to cook a soup for my husband using ground elder...

Once I tried to cook a soup for my husband using ground elder. It is a very invasive plant but if you like you can eat it like spinach or put it in the tea to clean your body. However I did it when the leaves were too big and it was awful... my poor husband!

 

 

stephanie keck's plot

I think that I would not like to have a plot in another garden, because elsewhere the fences are very narrow, everybody can look at each others, everything has to be very very clean... our garden is looser. I prefer it like this.

children area

My parents got this garden when I was 4, now I am 37. We have two wonderful cherry trees some tomatoes and herbs but mainly lots of flowers. We mostly use the garden for our free time and our children love it and also we live quite near... When I was a child my mum made a lot of marmalades, now I do myself and bake apple cakes in the autumn. Besides cultivating I like to do the hard work in the garden and I prefer to do it by myself without the help of my husband as I work in social work in Neukölln and gardending for me is a way of relaxing.

POG map

In the past we had a lot of alcoholics. When I was 20 or something like that, there was an article on the “Die Spiegel” interviewing two men of the garden and in the picture they were sitting in a children’s pool drinking beer, it was very funny! Now we do not have them anymore. Many people have changed in the colony. Now we have few Turkish, some Arabs, and some homosexuals...

Stephanie Keck, German, POG, Bezirksverband Charlottenburg der Kleingärtner e.V.

http://www.wir-bleiben.de/

I like to spend my time in the garden studying and playing music with my friends

Paulina with some friend playing music in her allotment

My father moved from Columbia to Berlin almost twenty years ago and we got the garden just two years after we applied for it.  We have a lot of beans over here, plus potatoes, carrots, cherries, basilicum, melissa and camomille. I like to spend my time in the garden studying and playing music with my friends even if we are the only ones our ages. The others usually are older, mostly my parents' age. They know and meet a lot of people here in the colony, though some can be a little bit conservative and a little strange with immigrants and homosexuals. Some of them are the ones with the German flag waving on their plot, but not all of them. The others are just proud to be Germans.

Anna Paulina Solano Miller, German-Columbian, POG, Bezirksverband Charlottenburg der Kleingärtner e.V.

Une blanquette de veau

a recipe by fredji powell

Where are you from?

I come from France, my father is american and my mother is french.

Why did you come to Berlin?

I lived in Barcelona before for long time and i learned german there, after the spanish language, and somewhen I wanted to speak the leanguage, to go there where german is spoken, and Berlin because it sounded romantic.

Which food can you not find in Berlin from your country ?

Well, I didn't really have the impression that there is or there isn't a particular food,

I never really made myself this question. I cook myself very much.At home we have always eaten very mixed, american mixed with french, a lot of chinese... When I miss something for example a good quiche or something like that then I cook it myself and the ingredients for it are easy to find.

What is your favourite recipe form your country?

Th quiche, you can throw everything inside it, and it's always delicious with crème fraiche, with eggs and with emmental cheese. The classic quiche is also with diced bacon, then you make a "Pâte brisée", it' like a dough, and then it can be with vegetables or meat, you can eat it cold, warm, it is always delicious.

Did you cultivate fruit, vegetables, herbs in your country?

Well I am really grown up in the countryside until 17 years old.

There we always planted carrots, salads, and vegetables, but since when I am travelling around I didn't really had the opportunity, this is the first 
garden where I think I will become member and make something.

Do you cultivate fruits, vegetables, herbs  in Berlin?

I would like to grow fruit trees, for example I would like Cherry trees.

What food, herbs or vegetables is used in your country for medicinal purposes?

Well that I know, that there is here as well like sage for throat infection, also for the stomac I think or for digestion, thyme in any case and lavande, from which there is quite a lot in south France and I know that it should be good for calming , for children for example.

Fredji Powell, France, Pyramiden Garten