Horst Mager: How Relaxing is Working in the Garden?

Horst Mager, a landscape gardener, biologist, and influencer, views his garden as a friend, emphasizing a reciprocal relationship of giving and taking. With decades of experience caring for plants, Mager, now 62, cultivates his passion primarily in his Berlin allotment garden, which also serves as the setting for the television show "Gartenzeit."

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I consider my garden a friend; it's a give and take.

Mager advises that selecting the appropriate plant for its specific location is crucial for a thriving garden or balcony. Key considerations include sunlight exposure, watering needs, and natural rainfall. He suggests that instead of having five small, frequently drying pots on a balcony, one larger pot is more effective. "You can see how people function by looking at their garden," Mager observes.

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How much sun does it get there? Do I want to water it often? Does rain fall there anyway? These are important points.

He notes a significant shift in gardening aesthetics over recent years. While manicured lawns, rose beds, and rhododendrons were once the standard, approaches are now more relaxed. "Many people are gardening differently now and integrating nature," Mager states. He expresses sadness over homeowners who pave over their gardens or prune plants at the wrong time.

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On a balcony, it's important not to have five small flower pots that constantly dry out, but one large one.

Mager spends at least two days a week in his allotment garden, where he never feels lonely. "I talk a lot with my plants; they are very relaxed conversations. I believe they talk back to me too," he shares. In the podcast "Frisch an die Arbeit," Mager discusses his extensive career, the ugliest front gardens, and his distress at seeing poorly maintained trees and flowers.

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You can see how people function by looking at their garden.