I’ve passed through these gardens for eight seasons now. I have come to know the flower seasons (now is peony season) the vegetable seasons (tomatoes are doing well now) and noticed each addition of a gnome pond, or lawn ornament.
Things are pretty quiet as I pedal my bike through the gardens all winter. But starting in March I begin to see people working the ground, trimming hedges (required heights) and planting their gardens. Soon, the gardens are full of flowers and vegetables. In fall, little baskets of apples and pears line the path for anyone to take.
This particular garden colony is only a few blocks from our apartment. I pass through the gardens on the main path on my way to school every day. At the end of the day Tom and Spencer and I frequently run the length of the garden path until we arrive at the forest. Once in the forest we run for a bit then return back through the gardens. 
The garden colony by our apartment is one of over 100 colonies in Berlin. Actually there are 74,526 individual garden plots in the city. The Berlin city website boasts “no other comparable metropolis has such a large proportion of privately used gardens with direct access to the inner city”.
I would love to own one of these plots if I lived here permanently. Like most Berliners, we live in an apartment and do not have a huge yard. But we would have to wait for a cherished lot, the list is long.
These gardens “allotments” once fed and sheltered Berliners who lost their homes through bombing during World War II. They provided a source of food to West Berliners during the Soviet Blockade. And even now, one third of the garden space must be used for fruit or vegetable growing. 
These are not random gardens. The Germans love their rules and the gardens are not exempt. The Bundeskleingartensetz, or Federal Garden Allotment Rules determine how each garden is used. One third is for fruit and vegetable gardens, another third for housing (but you cannot live in the little houses) and another third for recreational use. People seem friendlier in the gardens too. We often are greeted with a kind “hallo” or not so friendly reminder to keep our dog on a leash. Even so, the gardens are a bit of a mystery to us. We wonder what is inside the little houses. Do people sleep there? Is there plumbing? And where does everyone get all the gnomes and little creatures that inhabit the gardens. Do they all come to life at night and party?
But then again, our adventure here has been full of mysteries and joys.
These gardens certainly have given us a lot of joy and it is nice watching someone else do all of the work.
