Allotments: Why the Germans love their garden colonies | Meet the Germans

Meet the Germans presenter Rachel Stewart takes a peek inside a German "garden colony" to talk nature, gnomes and the all-important rule book.
Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic - from beer to nudity to complicated grammar. This week it's all about Germany’s hobby gardeners and their allotment gardens.
You'll find more Meet the Germans videos here: • Meet the Germans
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[@em8842]

It's extremely popular in Denmark, too. And you're allowed to live in (as in move your address to) whatever tiny house you have in your allotment garden from mid-spring until mid-autumn if you want - it's actually popular with students to sublet their apartment for half the year and live in their allotment garden instead. It saves a LOT of rent money and you get to enjoy a garden during summer instead of a small city apartment, so it's a win-win.

[@sheba9679]

In Germany it is not allowed to live there. I don't know why. But there are rules how often in one year you are allowed to sleep there. It is different in every garden colony

[@alexandrugheorghe5610]

That's amazing, Em. I 💜 Denmark 🇩🇰 . 👍🏻

[@666rsrs]

when i was in highschool me and my friends were allowed to use the schrebergarten of an old lady that died, because her children didn't want it. these summers tending the garden, barbecuing and drinking beer are among my best memories from my youth ... also, there were a bunch of asbestos plates in there that we very carelessly removed, which is why we'll probably all die in a few years

[@michaelganzer3684]

Let me tell you, you won't die in a few years because of that. :) If you really removed them very carelessly, then you simply had no time shredding them into tiny pieces with soaring mist, but did it the quick and dirty way. I do hope that your memories related to the Schrebergarten will always outmatch that tiny event of adventurous hazop ignorance. :D See, I helped my father cutting the loads of asbestos boards for our garage when I was 8. As fellow citizens of the GDR we didn't kow better these days. And look at me, still alive with 32 additional years on top. Asbestos at its best. :) Now I'm secretary of a Schrebergarten colony and I'm happy to witness the generation change.

[@pierrebuffiere5923]

When I became a German citizen, I was presented with a garden gnome by our friends.

[@ginafromcologne9281]

Ohh so cute! Did you like it? :)

[@pierrebuffiere5923]

@@ginafromcologne9281 Yes, thank you. He needs repainting now.

[@ginafromcologne9281]

@@pierrebuffiere5923 That's nice! Repainting it can be fun too. :)

[@michaelmorgan9824]

I love Rachel’s videos!

[@RachelStewart04]

Glad to hear it :D

[@hkkhgffh3613]

I love her brunetteness!

[@emrecck]

@@RachelStewart04 Is this really you Rachel OMG! I am moving to Köln soon and hope to see you there! 🙈 I’ll just ask for a selfir and nothing more 😂

[@RachelStewart04]

@@emrecck Hello and maybe "bis bald" in Köln!

[@felixxdenolo6793]

It would not be a German garden without a bunch of rules lol

[@happyyorkie5252]

Lol 😂

[@neharana2604]

How interesting ! I used to travel to Frankfurt pretty often and see these small cabins with green gardens on the way from the airport to the hotel. I assumed they were low income housing, oh boy ! I was wrong.

[@oliverkroker527]

Oh boy... low income housing are the very big and ugly scyscrapers at the edge of bigger cities^^ Don't diss our garden culture till you tried it out. ;)

[@hiimain7932]

My mom is obsessed with plants, she turned our rooftop into somewhat like a mini babylonian garden 😅

[@christophmensch3945]

What a huge kaleidoscope of information and entertainment about Schrebergärten in less than 4 minutes, i'm blown away!

[@zdocc2383]

My mates rented one so we could chill out and drink there xD

[@geraldmcmullon2465]

All the families I met had wooden cabins and a garden near a body of water (large pond small lake). These homes were fully kitted out with oven, washing facilities, bed rooms and laid on electricity for portable TVs and lighting. In the garden a high tech barbeque. Some preferred these homes to the brick and mortar of their main home. Originally they only had a tent, lock up cabinets and a place to park their campervans. The small wooden homes came quickly.

[@ejaaz7260]

I really enjoy these videos. Wish every country had a series like this. Just so I could know about them.

[@helenepidon3084]

If you don't want a queue, come to Quedlinburg! The town has at least 5 communities garden for 20 000 inhabitants. And a lot of gardens are free in all communities

[@Isthatyoudear]

What a brilliant series this is. And kudos to you, Rachel, for presenting it in such refreshingly entertaining way!

[@deep.space.12]

3:05 Her shirt means "wishes one good fortune" with a picture of a wealth-attracting kitty.

[@Camel9991]

In Polish cities we have gardens as those as well... and the same mentality :D

[@realdream1463]

Russia too

[@Camel9991]

@Simon Eminger of course! Many Poles would not admit how similar our nations are! We are neighbours and we've had maaany common events in the history and Poles can like it or not but German culture had huge impact on the Polish one. I noticed it when I was on students' exchange in Romania and often it was easier to "click" with Germans or Dutch than with Spaniards or Italians. Especially in terms of being punctual! haha But not only- food as well is very similar (lot's of pork, potatoes and saurekraut :D ) Besides I'm from Pomerania and live in Gdańsk/Danzig where German influence is obvious and in my folk language we say "jo/yo" instead of "tak" (yes) and potaoes we call "kartofle" and... I can list many more :)

[@jiricervenka8383]

Same in Czech rep.

[@YashSharma-wu7kr]

Ohh Rachel , your videos are always amazing but you make us wait so much. I know making good content takes time , quality over quantity. You are awesome :)

[@dweuromaxx]

Thank you for your feedback! We're happy to hear that you like Rachel's videos. And yes, it takes some time ;-) What topic would you like us to cover we haven't reported on yet?

[@YashSharma-wu7kr]

@@dweuromaxx so maybe a video about education system in Germany , because many people go to study in Germany but how much the Locals love their education system , Do they think that the system needs improvement or anything. And Types of schools. And maybe about breakfasts/Dinner, Recycling , traditionals hierarchy , Festivals and Carnivals , Smoking , Superstitions or maybe Renting and Rentals. Also you deserve more views.💕

[@RachelStewart04]

@@YashSharma-wu7kr Wow lots of really great ideas there - thank you! We'll put them on the list :)

[@YashSharma-wu7kr]

@@RachelStewart04 You're amazing Rachel 🤗

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

@DW Euromaxx - What do Germans think about foreign tourists? What's a typical German vacation? What do they think about their cars, and driving on the autobahn? Are most young Germans still interested in religion? What are German public schools like, and what do Germans think about them? I could go on and on . . .

[@cookingandlive]

Nice video! I like the urban gardening movement more as it cultivates places not fenced parcels. Our city plants tomatoes and vegetables in Pots all around oldtown as well as some flowers. Veggies are free to use.

[@isabellacampos7336]

Sehr schönes Video 🌷 Vielen Dank. Sogar die Gärten brauchen Gesetze, weil dadurch man lernen kann, was zu pflanzen, das die Natur des Gebietes nicht schadt. Zum Beispiel: es gibt pflanzen, die zu gross erwachsen oder zuviel Wasser brauchen und anderen drücken können. Auch wirkt der Gesetz aus, um die Vielfältigkeit der Flora zu schützen.

[@TimothySielbeck]

I have missed these since you left DW News. Glad I finally found you again.

[@RachelStewart04]

Sorry for the confusion - but I hope you are able to find all our videos now! Here's the playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLTuTOkjXVFXJAzrtbfg7RSuLXc8Gn83DC

[@rafaelv9121]

1:59 I burst out laughing :D Gosh I love Rachel already 😂

[@o_o6869]

well delivered as always Rachel ,keep up the good work.

[@PMS1950]

Excellent presentation again. I really enjoy your informative but light hearted features, which give such a fascinating insight into the German way of life and culture.

[@alpenhuhn1]

I was looking for a gardenzwerg in my colony, but I couldn't find one. That was 20 years ago.

[@ricardo.fontanelli]

I just can't stop to watch these videos, great job!

[@LifeIsMessyImLearningAsIGrow]

Your garden is fantastic! Thank you for sharing it with us. I also garden and make garden videos. It’s a lot of work. I appreciate the tips, tricks and inspiration your videos provide. I hope that we can not learn from each other as we grow!

[@bodenstaendig]

We really love our gardens here in Germany :D

[@BazColne]

Excellent production.

[@markcarey8426]

Very good vid. Some youtubers would've made a half-hour documentary saying the same thing. Short is good.

[@iamdustin04]

Even I’m learning a lot from these videos and I’m German lmao

[@rogerbixley791]

Our "Kleingarten " belongs to Deutsche Bahn. Now they have sold it to the town council who are now going to build a Kindergarten on it. I don´t want to give up my garden...but I have to..

[@michaelaxwilhelm3176]

WOW!!! THE GERMAN CULTURE, PAST AND PRESENT!!!

[@coolhomeschool2267]

same in Switzerland

[@barrylane4164]

Excellent again! This really gives one a good look into one aspect of the German soul!!!

[@minhucovu6321]

2:08 That slav squat

[@MajorKlanga]

I recently watched the film Datscha and this resonated with that.

[@c.norbertneumann4986]

"Datscha" is the Russian word for allotment garden. In the former Sovjet bloc, a datscha was kind of a garden refugium and private niché where people were not bothered by the Communist system. It is a loan word that entered the German language via East Germany.

[@Google-Experts]

Allotment garden. This contribution is, of course, a bit exaggerated. But very entertaining. There is certainly such an allotment garden in Germany, which has such strict rules. That let eich times so apply.

[@Bruce-1956]

'Volkstuin' in Dutch and they are everywhere.

[@Taeschno_Flo]

as 20 year old Kleingärtner, i take particular offense in that pejudice of mowing our lawns with scissors! Were not the british, we take a sickel or scythe for that

[@aragnee1]

Only some British do that, at least in the UK and Germany we can grow our own food unlike the USA.

[@Seeker_forever]

The word "Datscha" is Russian in fact. However it is used in German as well.

[@raj4558]

Nice information 👍

[@dweuromaxx]

Thanks!

[@Thomscher]

I am so lucky, my family owns a private garden without such a big rule book...even allowed to build a real house there(1floor)

[@georgkilianbraunig5877]

this channel is the most true to real representation of whats going on here :D

[@clockworkpotato]

Rachel, did you learn it all by yourself about Germany in 3 years, or you have a team of plot-writers as a backup? Your videos are always so "spitz und genau" !

[@RachelStewart04]

Hello! All the topics are things I have noticed since I started visiting Germany 10 years ago. I have also learnt a lot more since living here :) glad you are enjoying the videos!

[@clockworkpotato]

@@RachelStewart04 You have all Ingrediens to succeed in your profession: smart ideas, very balanced sense of humor, perfect presentation of the material. Other DW videos about "Meet the Germans" are not bad, but they look like supplementary videos to language course book. Your material is really catching. You should probably have a team that helps you, but hey, other "school book videos" have also a team. So, try not to loose what you have and move forward!

[@raj4558]

Thanks to show me heavens garden

[@chebbouaalem3885]

Nice place i like it ,very nice chanelle u make us travelle with u arround the world!

[@pierrebuffiere5923]

Rachel, I've been in Germany 40 years but my German isn't half as good as yours. How did you manage it?

[@flavioalmeida4608]

Great video.

[@jessiejamesferruolo]

I want a pacht garten for a while. Thing is I pretty much only grow hot peppers and sacred cacti 😆 If I couldnt grow those it would defeat the whole purpose.

[@marcusseidel6824]

the allotment was " invented " in Nothingham UK ...But the Germans love their Schrebergärten too..

[@MoniBackyardGrower]

nice work

[@kratos692]

Du bist schoen❣️

[@kratos692]

@J 2 I don't agree with that. Most Germans are pretty good looking.

[@indiraaryani9322]

Hi your vlog is very nice but the writing is very fast we can't read it very well so please keep writing a little bit slow so that I can read it perfectly

[@sheba9679]

How about to practice to read faster?

[@iwavns]

3:03 祝好运 (wish [you] good luck)

[@Codetutor-DemystifyCoding]

Are these gardens personally owned or just leased or rented out? Because if it is not personally owned then in India it's very difficult to make this successful😒

[@dweuromaxx]

@Codetutor The allotment gardens (or Schrebergarten as we call them here in Germany) are not privately owned and are usually leased for a period of several years, sometimes even for a lifetime. The rent is paid annually and is not particularly high.

[@c.norbertneumann4986]

@@dweuromaxx Are there "allotment gardens" in England, too?

[@joepaddy7239]

In Poland Allotments are very Popular, well atleast they are in Stettin

[@dweuromaxx]

@JoePaddy Do you have garden gnomes too? 😀

[@joepaddy7239]

@@dweuromaxx no sadly

[@HardeepSingh-iz8kp]

i love all your videos letting me know something something about germany, love from india

[@AlexWii02]

Bei mir in der Nähe, da wo meine Großeltern wohnen, gibt es welche. Doch der Grund hat mal uns gehört und meine Vorfahren mussten ihn verkaufen, da zu wenig Geld. Die Nachbarn meiner anderen Großeltern haben einen im Münchner Raum.

[@mucsalto8377]

danke für die Info; aber wen interessiert das?

[@flowerlovers9536]

Very Nice

[@merthanoglu4956]

Where is the new video? :(

[@dweuromaxx]

It's summer holidays... we will soon be back!

[@RachelStewart04]

Hi Mert, we're back! Check out the latest video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4WrpZSpotBqb8U

[@ducxuan-oh1vq]

Đo rua là cô cũng có Cây Xanh do Đức quan lý

[@soundtraveler9555]

First time I saw these I thought they were slums. I'm glad they're not.

[@dweuromaxx]

Haha... sure you are not the only one :) pretty tidy slums :)

[@abalada]

You're not the first one. Many of these garden colonies are also along the railways - thus easy to spot them as a tourist. As German Rail had once 700.000 employees. And garden colonies were a good use for otherwise useless property at track triangles etc. And the property is with those - but also most others - just a long term lease to the garden colony clubs.

[@skashax777x]

you should see some in the UK they do genuinely look like a shanty town XD

[@mucsalto8377]

It was an idea of the 1920´s to reduce the poverty and to provide some sun and vegetables to the working class, living in dark and cramped housing areas. Good idea and quite successful, doing great 120 years later.

[@richauntie316]

And this right here is why I want to move to Germany

[@tetelestaicreations5740]

love

[@plerpplerp5599]

Spießig is bourgeois in English which is actually taken from French. 🤦‍♂️

[@dweuromaxx]

"Narrow minded" would be closer, than "bourgeois".

[@theresawalker4219]

Love what i have been learning about this country. There is something to dna/genetics.

[@theresawalker4219]

I see the confusion in people's belief and vocabulary/definition problem in how some of the things said seem traitorous unknowingly.

[@erikan.n8409]

This is the first time I've ever heard of these, they're interesting but very weird and odd to me

[@mucsalto8377]

what´s weird about it? It was an idea of the 1920´s to reduce the poverty and to provide some sun and vegetables to the working class, living in dark and cramped housing areas. Good idea and quite successful, doing great 120 years later.

[@dw766]

Rachel i like you videos.you are looking amazing

[@bernardfinucane2061]

That's Bonn

[@dweuromaxx]

Rachel's "BONNanza" for good stories! 😊

[@peubouzon]

Germans are awesome, they have a lot of rules, it's kind of funny though hahaa.

[@apuapustaja3503]

I can get really annoying sometimes

[@davidbraun3557]

Moderator: "Was kann man hier machen?" - Kid: "Drogen!" ...

[@rudiralla9630]

"spießig": strong need for safety and lots of unchecked prejudices.

[@paroshbaishya9860]

I love your videos because I liebe a German girl

[@clarkkent4595]

To talk nature

[@_WorldOrder]

i watch your videos to watch you

[@DonaldFromKingdomHearts]

I always thought they were called Strebergarten

[@dweuromaxx]

That would be translated into English as "Nerd Garden" 🤓

[@c.norbertneumann4986]

Schrebergärten are named after Dr. Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber (1808 - 1861). He was an orthopedist and professor in Leipzig. He advertised the idea of playgrounds and green areas for children. In the nineteenth century, working class children in industrialized cities had to live under very unhealthy conditions. They lived in narrow housings having no space for playing or doing sports. This frequently caused bad postures. In 1836, Dr. Schreber (together with other professors) founded the first gymnastics club in Leipzig. Three years after his death (1864), a society was founded in Leipzig by Dr. Schreber's son-in-law that was named after him "Schreberverein". The target of this society was (amongst other things, like a library for educational issues) the construction of playgrounds for children. Around the first playground, little gardens were created where children were to learn gardening. These gardens were soon called "Schrebergärten", and, after a while, taken over by the children's parents. On May 10th, 1864, the "Schreberanlage Johannisthal" was founded on this areal. This was the birth hour of organized allotment gardening in Germany. Unfortunately, you hear nothing about these pedagogical and health caring origins in Rachel's video. She just tries to spread bias and prejudices against allotment gardeners. For further information read: www.gartenfreunde-thueringen.de/woher-haben-die-schrebergaerten-ihren-namen/#:~:text=Kleingarten%20gesehen%20hat%2C%20bzw.,Name%20%E2%80%9ESchrebergarten%E2%80%9C%20zu%20stande.

[@dustgreylynx]

I would allocate them all away from Berlin to Brandenburg. THey are annoying and only for the chosen ones, you can't normally pass through so you have to go around them, which is usually giant areas. I wish it were parks on it instead. Ot the housing

[@huswsimonbla]

A German flag in Germany? NOOOO! how dare they /s

[@buchzone]

Im Kleingarten wird die schwarz weiss rot Flagge aufgezogen *Lol

[@yesyoarrocket4301]

buchzone leider echt so. Wenn ich meine Oma besuche und die schwarz weiß rote Fahne des Nachbarn seh wird mir direkt immer schlecht

[@yesyoarrocket4301]

Ar rOe schwarz weiß rot sind nicht die Farben Deutschlands. 😉

[@realdream1463]

@@yesyoarrocket4301 take a history lesson

[@kevlon_]

@@arroe8386 Dafür haben wir schon ne Flagge. Die ist Schwarz Rot und Gold.

[@rafif549]

Why Germans love their garden colonies? Because they miss their FORMER colonies

[@Beckkerable]

It's so mean to show the dwarf.

[@mobilenotherwise5000]

*g No m E*

[@user-fn2lo8pn8e]

🇩🇪🇷🇺🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@stefankoelsch788]

Nothing wrong with that mentality.

[@Luqum]

Btw Streber means Nerd

[@David-eh9le]

Schreber not Streber

[@Luqum]

@@David-eh9le streber kommt von streben

[@David-eh9le]

Ja ich glaube du hast es jetzt selbst verstanden

[@Luqum]

@@David-eh9le ?

[@David-eh9le]

@@Luqum wegen dem was du gelöscht hast

[@stevenhuckaby2902]

I think i am bored

[@grivar]

1:16 - Was kann man hier machen? - Drogen :)

[@wallykaspars9700]

It is acceptable to be naked in one's own garden?

[@dweuromaxx]

In general, naked sunbathing or swimming is allowed on your own property. However, if the balcony or garden is clearly visible, it may constitute an offence.... ⛱🌞

[@BUILT2KEEL]

Im a gardener by trade, I was thinking of getting one since im living in a german city, but after seeing this i dont want it anymore, if im paying for a garden i want to do what i want with it, ill have to stick with my tiny balcony