Allotment gardens: Berlin
During my 2019 trip to Europe, I stayed a few days in Berlin. After dinner one evening, I fancied a walk and saw something that could be allotments on the map, so I checked it out. I almost missed the entrance to Kleingartenanlage Grönland (1904). These were the 'more than allotments' I'd seen from the train on my way into the city.
They had little summer houses and were surrounded by fences low enough to see over, or dense conifers, and so many colourful flowers. There was an interesting rock garden with succulents mixed with Japanese maples and bamboo, one with collections of statues grouped together (mushrooms, gnomes, swans), and old fruit trees bursting with apples, plums, and blueberries growing in bushes round the sides. I saw a fox slink out from one. After feeling the heaviness of Soviet-era buildings and grey weather, it was just what I needed to make me feel more at home there. Knowing that Berliners aren’t too keen on cameras, I focused on enjoying the space rather than documenting it, but I managed to snap these.
