But also, that apples or cucumbers with a few brown marks, dents or blemishes are absolutely fine to eat, even if the birds have already had a little peck or if their shape doesn’t correspond to the norm. I think they can develop a better understanding if they get to experience all that for themselves and aren’t just hearing it from me. There are years when hail, frost or pests destroy the harvest partially or completely. And almost every year a goshawk will attack one of our hens, which I then have to put out of its misery. You need a lot of patience and, when growing crops, you also need to be able to come to terms with losses. 

But there are also those wonderful moments when everything goes to plan and the kids can eat the tomatoes straight off the vine, or the berries straight from the bush. And they also have so much fun with the animals. They give the chickens new names almost every day and try to train them – but to no avail so far! Only when we get to experience something like that for ourselves do we learn that it takes effort and also a bit of luck to have a good harvest, and that nature and how we treat it really matters. It’s also very important to me that my three children learn how much effort it takes to produce food, even just for a few salads or meals, and that the changing of the seasons means that we don’t normally have access to every type of fruit and vegetable all year round. 

In big cities in particular, fewer and fewer children really understand where their food comes from.

We should be educating children more about these issues, especially in today’s consumer society. A lot of kids these days don’t get to see how plants grow or even know that we need bees to pollinate flowers so fruits can grow from them. They don’t know that tomatoes don’t grow here in winter, or that it takes a lot of effort and patience to grow fruit and vegetables and keep animals. When I’m in the garden with my kids, I’ll often say: “Hey, look over there! There’s a bee on that flower, just wait and see what happens.’ And a few weeks later we’ll go and observe a new little fruit growing on it.

Despite the experience you gained during your childhood, was the garden a new learning process for you too? 

Felix: Fortunately, it’s a constant learning process. And it’s also a challenge – sometimes it’s hard work, and sometimes it’s a real laugh! Like for example, when my first chickens refused to go into their coop at night and would hide in a tree. After getting home from work I would have to put on my headlamp and clamber up it to bring them down – much to the amusement of my next-door neighbor! The guy with the torch up the tree was soon the talk of the village! But that’s exactly what I like about it, the unpredictability of it all. Anything you do in nature is never going to go exactly to plan.

Does this close connection with nature also help you to see your work with different eyes?

Felix: Absolutely. On the one hand, the garden is an important sanctuary for me. Whenever my job gets stressful, or I get myself worked up about something, I just think to myself: get yourself out into the garden and you’ll soon have a different perspective on whatever is going on in your head. On the other hand, the garden is like a second workplace where I can calm my mind and achieve something with my own hands. I try to do everything myself and have built a collection tank for rainwater, raised beds and even our own chicken coop. Gardening work has reminded me to give things time. That’s also an important lesson in my job.

So, the garden has also taught you lessons that you can apply to your career?

Felix: Growing vegetables and keeping animals requires you to think long term and be patient, but also to just have a go at things and learn and improve all the time. It’s also about seeing things from different perspectives. Now I have a better understanding, for example, of farmers because their existence also depends on predators, pests and crop yields, as well as how they respect and treat nature. These principles can also be applied to managing a company. My job involves stakeholder management and discussions, also on an international level. I have to be flexible and adapt to unexpected changes, but without losing focus of the long-term goal. That’s also something that my garden teaches me. And I think it’s also a good thing for the brilliant people I work with that I have the garden and that it provides me with the work-life balance I need!

What would you advise someone who wants to follow in your footsteps and start growing their own vegetables?

Felix: If you want to keep animals, you need to make sure you’re well prepared and not just have the romantic idea that it will all work out, but also consider the practical aspects. You need to make sure that the conditions are right and that you have enough space. And check with your neighbors and also your partner so everyone is on the same page – is there a plan in place, for example, for the animals when you go on holiday or aren’t around one weekend? 

And as far as growing vegetables is concerned: get started and try it out for yourself! Just having a go at something, without being too fixated on the outcome, makes a very fulfilling change.

Thank you for talking to us, Felix!