Regarding guerrilla gardening, there is one women in Vienna everybody in the scene should know. It is a 76 year old lady, who is on her feet all day long, to make the world a better place by gardening on train stations and in public spaces.

 

EDITH CZERNELOVSKY mostly called „Die kleine Frau aus der Au“

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HOW WE FOUND HER:
We met Edith months ago when Veronika was in Kritzendorf to buy some fabric for her studies at the fashion school Herbststraße in Vienna. Kritzendorf is a small town where you arrive by following the Danube to the west. It is just some minutes away from Vienna. A charming sleepy little place lost in time and in the “Au”. It’s the german word for a meadow. As it is located directly next to the Danube there is plenty of spaces filled with wilderness. Untouched hidden places can be found by those who look for them, in the tree filled forest. And if you are new in this town and you wish to find them, don’t hesitate and ask for Edith from the train station. 

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HOW THE STORY BEGAN:
Everything began when she wanted to bring nature closer to people. Edith and her friend Augustine started a small association called “Natur und Kunst Vermittlung”. Where they do little tours for children in the Danube meadows, show movies and teach about nature. They were looking for a room to have their association in and met a man from the ÖBB the Austrian Train Company. He was very enthousiastic about their project and offered them to rent a room at Kritzendorf train station. So the “Kräuterstübchen” was born. A small room filled with dried herbs, antic cupboards, plants and a lot of different paintings and pictures about nature. On the table you will always find a jar filled with water and fresh flowers for drinking.

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TRANSFORMING A PUBLIC  SPACE
As time went on Edith noticed an undergrowth filled space on the train station. “It was looking really ugly and everybody was using it as a dust bin, cigarettes were laying everywhere on the ground”. So she took action and asked the ÖBB if she can make it into a beautiful garden. The ÖBB agreed and so Augustine an Edith started the project and renewed the whole space. Now it is a garden where animals, insects, plants and sometimes also people are living in harmony and permaculture. Wild bees enjoying the nectar of all blooming flowers and trees in the garden. Birds breeding in the small birdhomes fixed on the trees. And Peppermint living next to Dandelions and Daisies.

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„CARE AND PLANT, WHEREVER YOU CAN – NATURE WILL UNFOLD AND SERVE YOU BACK“

 

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HOW PEOPLE REACT
When we asked Edith how people react to her Garden she revealed that the feedback is mainly positive. The people are hipnotized by it. Many come to ask for advise about flowers and herbs for their own gardens, others come to look at the wild bees and children watch the lizards laying in the sun. But there are also some who don’t see anything at all there. For some it is just a green mess of dandelions, grass, bushes and peppermint and a strange little lady with dirty hands talking to the plants like to her best friends. What a strange place. But to others it’s truly magical. An heart warming oasis filled with green friends, waiting to let you try it’s harvests in autumn. With a small little lady smiling at everyone. She is straying around the train station while having a green watering can in her hands.

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SHE IS STILL OUT THERE
Edith still makes her tours through the meadow, so if you want to get out of town contact her, it will definitely be an adventure. You can also just step by on the trainstation and ask for the little lady. When the sun is out she will be out there for shure, at platform 2 in Kritzendorf.

It is possible to book a group tour through the meadow. For more information click the link below:

Natur Kunst Vermittlung

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LOVE INTENTION GIVES YOU THE FREEDOM TO PLANT EVERYWHERE
The story of Edith shows, that good intention gives you the freedom of modelling public spaces. We should rethink public space as an area of cocreation, where everybody with a good idea can materialize his dreams for a better world. We often think it is impossible, because it is owned by somebody else, but in reality barriers and rules will break down, if you act out of love intention.

One Comment

  1. thank you, Monika
    this is a very charming portrait of Edith
    – I know her since years and help her and Augustine with the garden where needed

    cheers
    Markus

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