By Minttu Monika Marjomaa
The global lockdown has divided people into two classes - those with access to green spaces and those without. When the only chance to breathe fresh air is a quick trip to get groceries or one government-allowed walk per day, those with yards, gardens or a proximity to parks are at a huge advantage.
The lockdown has created a gardening boom, where even kitchen sills and balconies in tiny London flats are filling up with vegetable and herb pots.
While people in the UK are just waking up to the significance of having access to green spaces, to the people in the Finnish capital Helsinki, it was always clear, as they figured out ways to bring nature into their quickly urbanising lives.
Pia Hynynen and Arto Härkönen are owners of a patch in the Marjaniemi Allotments in eastern Helsinki. It has a small red cabin with electricity, apple trees, a trampoline and an assortment of deck chairs in the front yard and a vegetable garden in the back.
Hynynen is a nephrologist at a nearby hospital. She was born and raised in Helsinki and a sworn urbanite. It all changed when she met engineer Arto Härkönen in 2007, who had grown up in a village in northern Finland and always dreamt about having his own plot of land.
“I knew absolutely nothing about gardening when we bought the patch,” says Hynynen, 56. “The first year, I carefully cultivated a group of seedlings, thinking they were some kind of flower. They turned out to be ground elder. The neighbours wondered why I was growing a whole bed of this pesky weed in my garden.”
The greening of urban lifestyles
Urbanisation in Finland came relatively late compared to its European neighbours, but the rate was fast. In 1950, the majority of people were living in the countryside, whereas by the 1970s most Finns had moved to cities.
Urban living granted many comforts, such as indoor plumbing and new technologies like washing machines and refrigerators, but the rapid development created a nostalgic appreciation for nature. This was compensated by building large, sparsely populated suburbs, conserving natural woodlands and creating outdoor recreation areas in cities.
Community gardens became a way of maintaining a pastoral community spirit for the new Helsinkians. The Finnish model has individual allotments of around 3000-5000 sq ft with little cottages suited for temporary living. This is a place where you know your neighbours and meet them at seasonal events, sauna nights and karaoke.
“We’ve got so many memories of barbecues, celebrations and lazy Sundays in this place.
Our children have grown up with it too,” says Härkönen, 55, who’s in the governing body of the Marjaniemi allotments.
“They used to jump on the trampoline and run around on the lawn, as teenagers they invited their friends over for parties and now, as adults, they tend to laze around in the sun or even help us out with weeding or planting.”
Therapeutic gardening
With high-pressure jobs, the couple often escape their flat in the city centre to do some after-work gardening.
“There’s something so satisfying about working with your hands, pulling weeds and coppicing,” says Hynynen. “It’s the complete opposite of what I do at work, which is very intellectual.”
The health benefits of this activity have been well established. Speaking to a TedX audience in Adelaide, horticulturist Sophie Thomson said she believed in the revolutionary power of gardening:
“Public gardens and shared allotments build strong, resilient communities,” says Thomson.
“Every minute spent in a garden is a minute closer to a sustainable, peaceful world.”
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