Nature is a phenomenon that can hardly be described. The newly created 1,200 sqm Culinary Garden at Sonnwies is the best example of how nature with its diversity can always amaze young and old.
| Food
Working in and with nature
Monika, Sonnwies gardener and florist, talks about her very personal relationship with nature, her vocation and gives insights into the concept "Culinary Garden".
Profession as personal calling
What does the profession of gardener mean to you?
Monika: As with most activities, gardening is not a profession that you simply learn. There is a lot more to it: Feeling good about nature, passion for the broad subject of the plant world, creativity, resourcefulness, and of course patience, a lot of patience. For a rich harvest, many different factors must interact, such as soil conditions, climate and a balance between beneficial insects and pests. The awareness that there may be a crop failure from time to time is also part of it, of course. Here it is important to understand nature as well as possible, to learn and to adapt certain conditions for the coming year. I am grateful for my profession, which I would describe much more as my personal calling. I work primarily with and for nature, but in addition I am always in contact with other people - our Sonnwies Farm team, but also many small and large guests.
What are special features of your workplace, the Sonnwies Culinary Garden?
Monika: The location spontaneously comes to mind as a special feature. The garden is naturally embedded in the wonderful landscape around Sonnwies. At the foot of the Dolomites, on the edge of the forest and directly on a spring-fresh mountain stream. In addition, the garden is designed in a purely biological way, without the use of pesticides. Here nature is at work, with as little human intervention as possible. A place where, thanks to a refined diversity of varieties, beneficial insects and pests alike feel at home and where the Sonnwies philosophy, with a strong sense of sustainability, is fully reflected. Vegetables, herbs, berries and flowers are grown on an area of 1,200 sqm. In between there is a network of paths and a central seating area for young and old visitors to the garden.
What is grown in the Culinary Garden?
Monika: The garden offers a distinctive diversity of varieties, including various forgotten vegetables, so-called rarities, such as tree spinach or garden orchard. Especially in summer, nature presents itself from its most diverse and colorful side. The following is harvested and processed:
Vegetables: lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet corn, radishes, beets, potatoes, spinach, chard, kohlrabi, cabbage, blue cabbage, broccoli, rabe, pumpkin, mini-peppers, carrots, onion, leek, radish.
Herbs: chives, parsley, cut garlic, sage, mountain basil, mint, oregano, marjoram
Shrubs | Berries: Strawberries, raspberries, pineapple berries, blueberries, blackberries, currant, elderberry
Flowers | edible flowers: sunflowers, marigolds, salvias, cornflower, small fern, comfrey, mallow, jewelweed (cosmea)
One particular concern is to bring children closer to nature in an interactive way. What role does the Culinary Garden play in this?
Monika: Sonnwies is a home for families from all over the world who long for retreat and relaxation in unique nature. It gives me great pleasure when I have visitors and we go on a little exploration together. The garden is a place where you can completely switch off from everyday life and realize what nature is capable of, in what diversity it expresses itself and what enjoyable products sprout from the ground. During weekly garden tours, children can actively help, water, sow, weed, harvest and taste. In the process, you'll also meet little insects again and again: Butterflies, caterpillars or ground beetles in all colors.
New ideas and visions
What would you like to pass on to the guests?
Monika: Growing up in South Tyrol, I have always had a deep connection to nature. I appreciate our habitat with all its facets and peculiarities very much. Nature works and produces the most valuable food for us. One has to bring along some patience and is rewarded for it in a very special way. I have the most beautiful feeling in the early morning hours, shortly after sunrise. I enter the garden and take care of all the plants, what is ripe is harvested. The freshly harvested ingredients are collected and brought to the kitchen. My hands smell of herbs and I always reflect on my personal good fortune to have been able to work with nature for 25 years.