Thank you Germany: Part 076: Urban gardening makes cities greener in a charming way

In Germany, there has been a resurgence of gardening activity in recent years, especially in the big cities. Many people are creating special eye-catchers with small projects in the centre of urban spaces. Urban gardening has taken a liking to Germans in the big cities. They appreciate this very special kind of gardening. Sometimes it is simply a way of beautifying a grey space in a big city with colourful flowers and beautiful green plants. Other times, the small gardens also provide fruit and vegetables for visitors. Every passer-by can tend to the garden and take a little something from their harvest if they wish.

Surprisingly, the gardens are firstly well cared for. Secondly, passers-by treat the yield responsibly. The gardens are watered instead of being picked empty. The concept behind this already worked in the Middle Ages in what is now Germany. There is even a term for it. Allmende is the magic word. The commons is a common property that is used by all people together and that people also work together to maintain. In the Middle Ages, this meant large areas of land or small water sources, but today the commons is making a comeback with small gardens in the middle of the urban tarmac. It is run by small co-operatives that are committed to the targeted preservation of these gardens.

Some regularly walk past the gardens and look after them. Other projects even have their own small website dedicated to their urban gardening projects. Urban gardening is very popular. More and more fans are being inspired by this way of cultivating a small garden in the big city and are joining in. In some places, there are even small, artistically sophisticated projects. Small potholes become places for colourful flowers. Traffic islands are planted with special plants. Those who used to spray graffiti are now creating such projects. Many people who come across these projects enjoy them. Some photos of urban gardening have become very popular on the internet. There are even cities that are inspired by urban gardening when designing urban spaces. Artistic work is often an important starting point for the beautification of urban space.

This is undoubtedly true in the field of urban gardening. In recent years, many small grassroots groups have been set up in this area. Large cities are also creating attractive small flower meadows or gardens that invite people to join in. It's not just city planners who like this. The inhabitants of German cities are also happy to be invited to participate in such beautiful projects. They are happy to participate in the conscious design of the space. As a result, Germany's grey cities have been getting greener and greener in recent years.

As a resident of Germany, you can be proud of such a development. If you would like to organise your own project of this kind, you will find starting points almost everywhere. Otherwise, the Internet offers many suggestions for designing the city. The Germans are happy to make use of these suggestions. We can all be grateful for their wealth of ideas.