Nova Meierhenrich: This is how she escapes the media hype

Nova Meierhenrich (51) is an actress, moderator – and passionate allotment owner. However, large waves recently made her new book “Lebenschlenker” about her underfilled desire to have children. In an interview on the edge of the OMR in Hamburg There, together with Neudorff, a manufacturer of sustainable garden products, she was traveling in a rickshaw as a driving garden to enjoy a green oasis of calm in the hustle and bustle of the fair and downtown.

Nova Meierhenrich: That really overwhelmed me. The last eight weeks have been like a intoxication – I never expected that the topic would be received so positively and that so much demand would come. I think I have done nothing other than talked about the book in the past eight weeks. That surprised me, but also totally happy. My goal was to initiate a discussion with the book – about excitement towards women, the K question, the desire to have children and all the countless ways that lead to this topic. I think the response is really great and the letters are very touching. Every day I get messages from women who say: “I finally feel seen. It’s not just me.” And when I go to an event and suddenly hug from a stranger who whispers a soft “thank you” in my ear – then I sit there and cry.

Meierhenrich: For me that was also a learning process to create these islands. I wasn’t good at all for a long time and always thought “yes, then you just do the job. And that too and that too … I don’t need a break.” But of course that’s a fallacy – and at some point the body reports very clearly. You have to create these little oases of calm in between. That is why I found the Neudorff campaign with the green RiScha so great because it transports exactly that. One of my little oases is on the one hand my van, who is at the door. When the longing for the sea grabs me, I just get in in the morning, go off, look at the horizon and think: “Wow! Life is fine again.” If I don’t have a lot of time, I go to the Elbe beach. And my allotment garden is of course my refuge in which I feel comfortable. As soon as the first rays of sun come out, I am there, dige in the earth – and that in the truest sense of the word. For me, this is a complete coming down to make yourself dirty. Sometimes I drive directly from the airport with the suitcase into the garden, put myself in the hammock for ten minutes – but then I have to get started. Then I throw myself in, I’m entirely with me.

Meierhenrich: Yes, it is a great contrast and I need that too. I noticed that from my childhood. I have three brothers, we always played in the dirt. I didn’t have barbies, I built tree houses. We were always on vacation in Denmark, I saw the first palm at 17. Everything was always tangible and down -to -earth, and that is exactly what extends through my life to this day. Then when I can’t get the dirt away under the fingernails, then they are quickly painted red so that I can still work in the evening.

Meierhenrich: No, not at all. I think many don’t even know what I do. And those who know it doesn’t really matter. And that’s the nice thing that it is about other things. With some neighbors you get along really well, there is a call about the garden fence: “The cake is ready – do you also want a piece?” And then of course there are also the others, in which every cliché about allotment garden colonies is really true. That is also part of it – you can’t choose your neighbors.

Meierhenrich: At the moment it is just very, very colorful. The vegetables are not yet in the bed because the ice saints were not yet, that’s always a bit “Risky” in Hamburg. But it blooms and sprouts everywhere. The tulips are in full splendor, the grasses grow, and the plum tree and the apple tree are also full of bloom. It’s really a wonderful phase. And then this anticipation begins – you get your garden furniture out, put the carpet back, make everything beautiful, clean a little, set up … and wait for the first evening when you finally start grille.

Meierheinrich: No, no, no. (laughs) I will certainly never starve with him by my side – because he cares with passion. The only condition: he does not have to take a tool in his hand. Renovating, do -it -yourself, he hates all of this – and luckily I don’t. I think he sometimes shakes his head when I say again in the morning at nine: “You, the weather is nice, I’m going to the garden.” But he is the best barbecue chef. It’s a good division, absolutely great.

Meierhenrich: First, not be too perfectionist. The garden will show you how it is on it. You always think at the beginning, you have everything under control. But when gardening, the weather is different every year, the rain is different. And what will work in a year may not work in the next. Therefore, you should take out the pressure from the start, just get started, try it out – and then it will either be an experience or a success. In a year the harvest is fantastic, you are happy and think: “Yes, now I got it out!” And the following year the brown rot comes, the snails march in – and you ask yourself: “What did I do wrong?” You did everything the same as before. Only the garden then tells you: “Sorry, I’m different this year.” And that’s exactly what I love – this unpredictable.

Second, not too artificial. I try to garden as wild as possible – of course in the framework of the allotment garden law, which specifies me how I have to do. But you should give the garden freedom. And if there is no garden, you can rent small plots that are now available in almost every city. This is not a whole allotment garden, but just a small field, but that’s really fun. And if you don’t trust yourself yet, you can simply put a few nice balcony boxes on the balcony and plant tomatoes at home. Or even on the windowsill there are now small grow houses with herbs. No matter what framework: easy to try, try it out, that can’t really go wrong. In the worst case, it is an experience and then you will do it differently next time.

Third: just do not invest in garden clothing! At the latest when you come home with the white shirt for the first time after working in the garden and think “I actually only wanted to pluck three leaves”, and then you have on it at once – then it is your garden shirt. You don’t need to invest money, the wardrobe does that all by itself.

Meierhenrich: I can’t say that exactly because that is changing every day. We drive to the North Cape relatively safely and are on the road for almost a month in summer and combine this with many jobs in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. This will also be a farewell trip with regard to the desire to have children. It will be my second time at the North Cape, and this time with a very positive aspect and I’m really looking forward to that. My partner, I and our little dog – we sit down in the van and probably spend all August in Scandinavia, look for our own way.