Grzegorz Pawlik:The last year has shown that gardens play an important role in our lives. Are you too?
Katarzyna Dowbor: Journalists often ask me where I charge my batteries. In Zanzibar? I always answer that in my garden, with my pets, because it is a magical place for me. Without this garden, it would be hard for me to work so hard.
What are your pets?
I have three dogs, two cats and two horses.
Horses in the garden?
Almost. Right behind the garden is a meadow that I rent. There is a stable and, of course, my horses.
Is there any space for fruit and vegetables in your garden?
Yes, I have a small vegetable garden. Recently, I asked a carpenter to make increased discounts so that I would not have to bend down. This makes all maintenance work much easier.
What have you already managed to plant?
I don't have time to make seedlings, so I buy ready-made seedlings. Last year I dreamed of a lot of vegetables, so I found myself delaying planting this year. I mainly grow zucchini, squashes, and green beans. I have my friendly garden shop where I like to shop.
What are your favorite flowers?
I really like delicious heads. I have specially prepared the entire discount for them. I also have a seven-year-old wisteria with beautiful purple flowers. I take great care of this beloved creeper. Tulips must not be missing in the season. Besides, I love red geraniums, they always adorn my window sills. My wooden house has a typical rural character.
I recommend mallow!
I am buying too. I do not sow, but buy such suckers anymore. I still have a lot of rhododendrons, because I have shady places in my garden and I think they will work great there. Well, there's a lot of work to do with them (laughs).
I also have a willow tree. A beautiful tree. It's a weeping willow tree that was in a deplorable condition when I bought the house. As we know, the willow likes to split in half …
She is fragile, but also forgives a lot.
Yes, it is fragile. And here a good gardener's head helped. I really wanted us to take care of it and one year Mr. Przemek said: we are cutting it.When I came home from work and saw her, I cried. Because it turned out that my willow looked like trees in the desert where vultures hang out. She was just shaved bald (laughs). Mr. Przemek reassured me that the tree would grow back. And in the same season she bounced. And now, two years later, she is beautiful. But I trim it too. On the one hand, horses chew it, and on the other, I make sure that it is trimmed. She is beautiful, she pays back.
Are you helping anyone with garden tasks, which there are probably many?
I have a friendly gardener, Mr. Przemek, who helped me set up a garden and relieves me in the most difficult work in spring and autumn. He also takes care of my lawn. Of course, I have automatic sprinklers that are my salvation.
And do you use a lawn mower?
I don't have a mower, I haven't tried it yet.
Are you a fan of technological innovations?
I am. I just wonder if such a robot can handle it. I have a lot of discounts in various places and a lot of animals. I will think about it, maybe I will try, because it is really a convenience.
In my garden I have a lot of apple trees, as many as 26 trees that are 30 years old. Every two years they bear delicious fruit.
Do you remember what varieties these are?
I don't know because I bought a house and they were already growing there (laughs). But they are brilliant! They give birth to hard apples, wine and truly fantastic. They may not look like they do, but how they taste! My friends come to me every year for apple picking and this is the best event in the world. Everyone has to come with a basket, pick some fruit, and then prepare a dish from it (laughs).
If you were to name your greatest horticultural achievement, what would it be?
In general, I am proud of my garden because I like it very much and I feel good in it. I am proud of the lawn, because its maintenance is not a simple matter.
As the English say, to have a nice lawn you have to sow it and then mow it regularly twice a week for a hundred years.
Yes. There is something to it (laughs).
Do you have any way to deal with moles?
Yes, a lot of dogs and cats (laughs). Horses are quite effective in deterring moles, because they cause a loud noise when galloping. And indeed: there are molehills in the meadows nearby, and I am not here. Besides, I have a cat that is very hunter and she managed to catch a mole once. I took it from her, luckily she didn't hurt him. I took him to the meadow, because they are useful animals.
The pretext for our conversation is the 25th anniversary of the magazine "My Beautiful Garden". However, this year will go down in history for completely different reasons. Do you think that the pandemic made nature stand up for its own?
I think a bit like that.I am a huge fan of nature and I believe that we humans are doing it a lot. Huge! When we locked ourselves in our homes, the nature developed again and the animals began to go out to their former hunting grounds. Plants began to appear where they had not been able to be before, because people were trampling on them. We hijacked the globe. It is a pity, because the world in symbiosis with plants and animals is beautiful, and we are masters in concreting everything.
I believe that we should try to live in harmony with nature and not destroy it like that.
What can or must each of us do to ease the planet a little?
A lot! It is enough to go for a walk in the forest with the animals and take a garbage bag. Let's collect all the waste along the way. It's scary how much plastic can be found. In my country, we have such actions that we all gather together and go clean the area. And it's fantastic!
Children should learn from us that you can do something for the planet and you don't have to spend money on it.A little goodwill, a little time, and we can ease our Earth. Besides, I think we need to educate our children that nature is our ally, not our enemy. It cannot be that a toddler comes to the countryside and is afraid of a beetle, spider or ants … There are a lot of birds that come to the garden every day. This is something beautiful! The best music there can be.
And this is what we teach children. Also that the flower is not to be trampled on, just to smell it and enjoy its beauty. Let's not neglect it.
We will get as much as we give?
Yes, exactly.
Is there a chance that one day we will see you on the set of the "Our New Garden" program?
I used to make a program called "Dowborowa Ogrodowa", in which I talked about my gardening passions. I learned many things then.I invited those who knew plants and who had nice ideas to the program. Thanks to them, I learned, among other things, how to take care of the lawn (laughs).
