Beside the road and track

There are a couple of vegetable gardens on Grafenwalde, examples of the Schrebergärten movement started by Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber (15 October 1808 – 10 November 1861) His publications predominantly dealt with the subject of children's health and the social consequences of urbanization at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Schreber was the founder of the eponymous "Schreber movement".  In 1864, the first Schrebergärten , was established by leasing land for the physical exercise of children.

  

 Move forward 150+ years and you're zipping along in an ICE high-speed train, munching happily away on your bratwurst , just as you're wiping the last blob of mustard from the corner of your mouth, a lazy glance out the window, though, comes as a shock. Rather than the well-ordered suburbs or well-kept factories you have come to expect- miniature houses tucked in next to the train tracks as far as the eye can see.

It's a sight that greets visitors on the approach to almost every town in Germany --  the clutter of ladders and rakes leaning against the back of the structures, neatly ordered flowerbeds, well-tended fruit trees and picture-perfect picket fences are lined up like regiments of tin soldiers. The phenomenon is known as a Schrebergärten -- an area outside the city where the gardening-obsessed Germans can rent out a small plot and plunge their fingers into the soil.

But while getting back to nature is an instinct many of us indulge in, the German gardener takes it very seriously indeed. Flawlessly clipped lawns, neatly sculpted bushes, and flowerbeds entirely free of even the tiniest weed are the norm with many gardens revealing a feng shui exactness that would put a Japanese bonsai master to shame. Other vegetation virtuosos prefer a more playful perfection and opt for a liberal distribution of garden gnomes and plastic windmills with cheap replicas of Greek fountains and other water features a must for those with a bit of cash to burn. 

  Ordered, trimmed, enclosed, ornamental, each strip has some kind of glorified shed with floral and vegetable displays. As for people, they’re only temporary visitors, because however fabulous the summerhouse/cottage/shed – and some are very fancy –one of the many hundreds of rules is that a Schrebergärten is strictly non-residential and rules are there to be obeyed. These enclosures are the garden equivalent of white bread: nature with the wildness extracted – and with more fertilizer per square metre than any farmer would dare to use.

 

I like creating Schrebergärten, mine are largely Busch, Noch and scratch, they include strawberries, green and red cabbage, cauliflower, green and red lettuce. 

 

The small garden is part of the farmhouse, the original was at least 14 years old and used on at least two previous layouts. There is some further work needed, the washing line will be given some clothes and there is a bear.  

However, there is a rural reality of cultivating vegetables, certainly not the ‘pretty’ cottage garden, a gentle chaos of compost heaps, raised beds, garden frames and general detritus.

The farm worker's garden

The layout is home to three small vegetable allotments, a reflection of what I see from my workbench and each is slightly different both in size and scope. 

The oldest is attached to the farmhouse, the cottage has a more formal arrangement whilst the station garden is tucked away near the end of the station.

Currently, the allotment by the station is the the process of being created, the actual ground is waiting to be laid in place but first the surrounding area must be completed with some grass and garden rubbish.. 

The station garden

 

Naturally, the allotment must have a shed and it must have an armchair.

The tatty fence is in place, the furrowed earth inset has developed a slight curve whilst the tomatoes and potatoes are growing but it still needs a lot more detail. 

 

 

This guy also loves  tomatoes and potatoes

 

The ditch beside the rural road is nature’s highway, home to a wide variety of flora and fauna such as the common iris amongst which the stork will hunt for food.

Here are a few of my favourite habitats

Here are the irises

 

 

 

Noch offers an excellent iris that is easy to plant but needs a dab of yellow or purple as preferred 

 

I really should place something beside the plant to give some of scale as they are truly tiny and super fiddly, this group of six took 30 mins, I have another thirty-three to make/plant.

 

Unfortunately, the little paper plants need to be supported after 'planting' in scenic glue for at least 45mins, just two at a time.

Weeds

 

 

Many years ago, inspired by Gordon Gravett, I took some bristles and dipped them in green flock, today they were finally planted, the Swan Vestas box is helping them stay sober whilst the glue hardens. 

 

Thinking about the plants in the ditch and these two are the outcome, at just 10mm high, they were really fiddly to make using mini-forceps and a hot glue gun blobbed onto kitchen foil. The glue blob will be covered in green scatter.

 

How I managed not to burn my fingers is beyond me, unfortunately I need another half dozen. 

Beside the barn

 

Just a few left-overs with dabs of Dulux tester. 

 

 

Road and Trackside Flora

 

Roads and railways are a micro community, often bringing rural flora and fauna into urban environments. three of the most common plants common to railways are shown below.

 

Roadside

Trackside 

Tragopogon pratensis, Jack go to bed or Meadow Salisify, the plant is distributed across Europe, commonly growing in fields (hence its name) and on tracksides. The local name derives from its habit of the flower head closing before noon, it is found in Germany from NRW to Austria as well as across warmer parts of Europe.

It can grow to over a metre in height and is a prolific weed, the milky sap can be dried and used as chewing gum.

The other endemic weed often associated with railways is Chamerion angustifolium, Rose Bay Willowherb. Its tendency to quickly colonise open areas with little competition, such as sites of railway and forest fires, makes it a clear example of a pioneer species. Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light, it is found throughout Germany and most of Europe.

Buddleia - the butterfly bush

Known as the butterfly bush, the fragrant flowers of buddleja are a favourite nectar source for butterflies. These undemanding, mainly deciduous shrubs, find a place in every garden with their spectacular displays of blooms and honey scent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another garden favourite - hydrangea

 

  

Cow parsley

 

 

 

 

 

 

The majority of the trees on the layout are from MBR in Poland, they offer both broad leaf and evergreen varieties, most are broad leaf but a stand of immature larch is on order. They will be ‘planted’ at the rear where the limestone outcrop ends.