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Related Articles

Inspirational Green Thumb Award
Eileen O'dea, Home & Garden editor, granted me this award in 1998, the first time it was awarded. The interview on the right led to this award.

Paradise Lost, the Tyranny of Conformity
Carol Wallace's account of the illegal destruction of my naturalized garden by the City of Winnipeg on June 1, 1998.

Louise Riotte Books

Companion planting guidebook for ornamental gardening

Sleeping with a Sunflower
A Treasury of Old-Time Gardening Lore, Great present for any gardener, including yourself

More Louise Riotte
Books at Amazon

Inspirational Green Thumb Interview

by Eileen O'dea & Traute Klein

Suite101 Home and Garden editor, Eileen O'dea, interviews Traute Klein, biogardener, to find out what motivates her to carry on gardening in spite of tremendous difficulties. This article was first published November 15, 1998 in Eileen's Home & Garden column which no longer exists.

The following is an interview between Traute and me. She kindly agreed to answer even some painful questions. I hope you will agree, after reading it, that Traute truly is an inspirational person and gardener.

Eileen: When did you start gardening?

Traute: Some of my earliest childhood memories are those of gardening with my dad, of learning about wildflowers and medicinal herbs from my mother, and of having my many questions answered by the manager of the botanical gardens in our hometown.

I did not start my own big scale garden until I was injured in a serious accident in 1983 and had to give up my career as a teacher. Even though I was suffering from considerable pain, the gardening gave me great satisfaction, maybe because it took me back to my happy childhood memories.

Eileen: How did you garden while in physical pain?

Traute: Gardening was a great escape, allowing me to be alone where no one could see my tears.

Eileen: How did you keep going despite your chronic pain?

Traute: Changing activities every few minutes helps reduce pain, and being close to the soil always gives me the strength to show a happy face. Pain does not bother me so much when I can hide it from other people.

Eileen: Who, if anyone, was or is your gardening mentor?

Traute: With the excellent training I received from my parents, I was well prepared to carry on by myself. I did, however, find a book which introduced me to companion planting, Louise Riotte's "Carrots Love Tomatoes." Reading it, I realized that my mother had always practiced Riotte's principles, but now I was able to give the practice a name and to understand the underlying principles.

Eileen: What is your favorite thing to grow?

Traute: I love trees. I let them spring up from seed in my garden wherever they like. In the spring, I transplant them into pots where I can nurse them through the hot summer. In autumn, I transplant them in the country.

Eileen: Why?

Traute: I grew up in one of the few regions of Germany which still had stands of virgin forest, and I loved roaming through them, often all by myself. Hiking is still my favorite pastime, although I have not been able to follow it for many years. Canada's virgin forests are probably among the most beautiful regions in the world, especially in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta.

Eileen: What is your least favorite thing to grow?

Traute: I only grow things I like. Apart from fruit trees, berry bushes, and vegetables, I only grow things which one would find naturally in God's wild outdoors of this region. You will find roses in my garden all right, but only the wild ones which I dug up by the railroad tracks. No hybrids for me. I need to be surrounded by the appearance of wilderness in order to be happy.

Eileen: Why?

Traute: Straight rows remind me of soldiers marching through the streets while I was growing up, and I would rather not be reminded of the war.

Eileen: How many people visited or inquired about your garden?

Traute: I don't think there ever was a day when people did not stop to talk, to admire, to ask questions, and to go home with seeds or some plants which I used to keep ready to pass along. Some days I had so many visitors that I could hardly get any work done.

Eileen: Do you ever see yourself stopping gardening?

Traute: I always say that they will have to put me in jail to stop me, but I am sure that even there I would find a way of passing my gardening principles on to others.

Eileen: Why?

Traute: I feel that man was put on this earth to carry on the work which the creator started. It is my job to be a good steward of what has been entrusted to me.

Eileen: Is there one plant you have always wanted to grow but couldn’t?

Traute: I would love to see some of the spring wildflowers of my childhood memories, but I know that they are not hardy here. Just this spring, after several years of trying, I had managed to establish several kinds of violets in my garden. Unfortunately they all fell victim to the demolition and I have no idea where I can get the seeds now.

Eileen: What is your favorite gardening memory?

Traute: I do not remember when it hit me, but one day I discovered that after the first year, my garden had not seen diseases or pests, not even slugs and aphids, yet these pests abounded right across the border. It seemed that pests and diseases respected the invisible wall between the two properties. I knew then that I had been a good steward of the land which had been entrusted to me.

I must add one more. My garden was visited by every cat in the neighborhood and also by many birds, including songbirds, and they are rare in this cold climate. They all coexisted peacefully as long as they were in my garden. As soon as the cats left our property, they would again start chasing each other as well as the birds.

Eileen: What is the best advice you can give a budding gardener?

Traute: Don't start planting or sowing until you have created a deep, rich organic soil. To get the greatest satisfaction, create your own from the compostable material which other people are throwing out.

Eileen: What would you like to tell all gardeners out there?

Traute: Don't try to imitate someone else's idea of gardening. Have the courage to grow the kind of garden which your conscience demands of you.

Eileen: What is your driving force?

Traute: It must be my faith in the creator who has allowed me a small part in keeping this earth healthy.

Eileen: Thank you for your candor. Is there anything you would like to add before we conclude?

Traute: If it were not for the support I have received on the Internet, I have no idea how I would have lived through the disaster which struck this summer. While I was numb with pain, I found out that people all over the world are as keen as I in preserving the resources which have been entrusted to us. Maybe something good will still come out of this horror.

I wish we had more space but I think you all get a pretty good idea of this courageous woman. The next time I don't feel like doing any more weeding, I know I will think of Traute and trudge on.

© Eileen O'dea

Note: Eileen's article about the Inspirational Green Thumb Award is linked in the left column as well as senior gardening writer and law professor Carol Wallace's account of the demolition of my garden.