March 22, 2022, 2:00 pm | Read time: 8 minutes
Many still remember Nova Meierhenrich from her Viva and MTV days–and she remains active in the TV business today. But how does the actress and presenter actually unwind from her many TV jobs? She revealed it in the myHOMEBOOK interview.
Nova Meierhenrich is a presenter, actress, and bestselling author. She has now ventured into writing another book. In early March, “Finally Laubengirl–My Allotment Adventure” was published by Gräfe and Unzer. In it, the 48-year-old writes about her journey to owning an allotment garden and life as a “Laubenpieper” (allotment gardener). In the myHOMEBOOK interview, she shared what she loves most about the “Laubengirl” life, the challenges she faced, and the tips she has for future allotment gardeners.
“I discovered allotment gardens as endless freedom”
myHOMEBOOK: There’s a cliché that allotment gardens and gardeners are stuffy. Is that true?
Nova Meierhenrich: “Well, I once jokingly said ‘from cool to stuffy with one signature’–namely, the lease agreement. It happens quickly. There’s definitely still a dusty image. But that’s simply due to all the rigid rules that still exist in allotment colonies. For me, it always had a completely different connotation. In my youth, I discovered allotment gardens as endless freedom!
Somehow, over the years, I always thought when the time comes and you’re not traveling as much and have time to care for such a garden, which is really labor-intensive, then you’ll go for it. And in 2018, it was time. In 2017, we started looking. Luckily, I managed to talk my friend Mo into it with her son, who also found it totally stuffy. But then she said yes, and we got the allotment, and since then, we’ve been the Laubengirls. With our Laubenboy, who we mustn’t forget, because he’s obviously the boss. That’s clear.”
Why did you write about your journey to the allotment garden? How did it come about that you wrote an entire book?
“Honestly, it was a bit of a coincidence. I started posting about the garden on Instagram occasionally because it’s fun to share building projects. Then I thought, you can’t spam your artist account with garden stuff, so I created a separate account. That’s how the Laubengirlz account came about, where we focused solely on the garden. Several publishers read it. Gräfe and Unzer were very persistent.
I always said: Guys, I can’t write a guidebook, I have no idea what I’m doing. But they convinced me that’s exactly what they wanted. This authentic look over the garden fence, because there are already enough perfect guidebooks. So, I was persuaded. I think that was actually the answer to the question.”
As a child, you dreamed of having an allotment garden. How did this dream continue to grow?
“I think as a child, I didn’t think about it at all. I just thought it was great to have your own piece of land. You didn’t know how it was legally regulated or what you had to do. I had no idea about all the regulations back then. I think our garden has become a bit of a meeting place. And that was always our wish from the start. The door should always be open for our friends.
For me, it’s often a place of silence. I’m the one who sometimes enjoys the first rays of sun on the terrace early in the morning, makes a coffee in the summer before heading to work. And for the young man, it’s definitely the best place to play soccer and collect bugs.”
You did everything yourself in the allotment garden–from gardening to renovating the hut. Did you know how to do all that beforehand?
“I have three brothers and an engineer father. That means building treehouses was always more popular than Barbies. And I have more tools in my little room than shoes. I’ve always loved this kind of manual work. But in the garden, I did many things for the first time. I had never built a compost toilet before, and I didn’t need a pallet sofa. Just do it, just try it.”
What did you absolutely want to have in your allotment garden?
“A garden bed. I always wanted a garden bed. And that was the first thing I did when we took over the garden, even before we started renovating the hut, I set up my garden bed under the plum tree. It was actually my old bed that had been waiting in the attic for its moment. I always wanted to sell it, but I didn’t, and when the garden was there, I knew why I never did. By now, a proper canopy has grown over it. It’s my favorite spot. In the summer, it’s nicely shaded, and I sit there with a laptop or book. Or the kids have pillow fights.”
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There really is a “Crime Scene Garden Fence”
What problems did you encounter on your way to the allotment garden that you hadn’t anticipated?
“We didn’t expect some of the discussions at the neighbor’s fence. I thought many things were just rumors and was surprised to find that the ‘Crime Scene Garden Fence’ really exists. You have to practice tolerance and learn in such an allotment colony because it’s a microcosm of people coming together who might not meet in normal life. And so everyone has different views on life and gardening. I wasn’t quite prepared for some discussions.”
An allotment garden is a big project. How do you manage to keep track of costs? Do you have a tip?
“Set small goals. The daily work in the garden is already a cost factor. It’s best to make a list. You have the lease that is due every year. Then there are things like proper tools. You need soil every year. You need mulch, you need fertilizer, you need the plants, the seeds, those are expenses you should keep an eye on. What’s left over, you can use for your extras. There are so many things where you can save and where you can just look with a sense of proportion. And you don’t have to own all the tools yourself in the first year. You can borrow the hedge trimmer from a neighbor for twice-a-year hedge trimming.”
“Application for a Hut: The More Personal, the Better”
What tips do you have for those who now also want an allotment garden?
“Look around–which colony do you want to be in? Do I want to use the garden every day or is it enough for me on weekends? That says a lot about the radius in which your garden should be from your home. Do I want to garden close to nature? Do I want to design my garden more wildly and freely? Then I need to find a colony where that’s allowed. Do I want electricity and water? The colony must have that too.
And then comes the application process. I always say: the more personal, the better. We had our Laubenboy write the application from his perspective, why he absolutely needed this garden and his mother and his friend. We included a photo and explained who we are, what we do, and we had already inquired a bit in the facility, knew someone there. Check out the facility, introduce yourself at the community house, participate in community days, get to know the people, and then such an application is much more personal. And I think that sometimes moves you a bit further up than if it’s very impersonal.”
If I’m already an allotment gardener and already have my garden, where’s the best place to start? You started with the hut.
“I can recommend that to everyone because you’re still outside enough. I know many who started outside. But then you can’t warm up, and you quickly get cold and wet. It’s no fun. We started inside. We only painted the outside of the hut two years later. That wasn’t important at first.
And then we tackled the beds. First the perennial beds, then the vegetable beds. And first, we looked at what would come out. You can’t see that in the middle of winter when everything is frozen. You’re sometimes surprised at what comes back to life. And in the first year, we also planted young plants, including vegetables. We took young plants from the nursery and planted them. Now I grow everything myself, and you can’t have breakfast in my kitchen at the moment because the whole table is full of baby plants. You become very nerdy, wanting to do better every year.”
What’s the best thing about the Laubengirl life?
“On a beautiful summer day, sitting in the hammock and listening to nature–I totally enjoy that. Just letting the sun shine on your nose and listening to the birds. Next door, someone is swearing, over there is a lawnmower, and two people are talking at the garden fence, and then someone calls over from across the way: ‘The cake is ready! Are you hungry?’ That’s the perfect day for me.”