Usedom's Wild Herbs and Rare Flowers

Ina Schirmer has been living in her herb and verbena garden kingdom for 25 years. It wasn’t always this large or so full of floral splendor, but she has invested half her life—her love, knowledge, and strength—into it. The garden has become her personal metaphor for life—an alter ego, a space for energetic dialogue, a mirror, and a cycle of values made visible. Pure nature. A garden is like a friend for life, one you nurture with great affection and who repays you not only by faithfully turning green and blooming but also with little surprises.

Born near Leipzig, this trained phytotherapist, hypnotherapist, and naturopath had lived just 500 meters from the garden as a child, without realizing the connection that would develop later in life. “My first impulse to explore herbs came from my grandmother, with whom I grew up in the countryside. We used to go looking for chamomile and linden blossoms. Back then, there were actual collection points where the herbalists would drop off their daily harvest by the sackful. They have preserved this ancient knowledge as if it were a treasure and have gladly passed it on.”

Ina Schirmer has followed her own path, working as a dietitian until her garden found her. It was as if the vacant lot with the former railroad guard’s cottage had been waiting for her in 1997. You take a place under your wing and pour love and hard work into it until a vision takes shape. Daily work becomes a calling. The grandmother’s knowledge lives on in the serene herbalist. But the herbal expert also draws on her fascination with an almost archaic connection to nature and, over the years, has absorbed much from authors such as Hildegard von Bingen, who combine ancient wisdom with modern medicine, investing all of this in her life’s calling. With her small birthmark above her mouth and the tiger cat that “just happened” to wander in—rubbing against her legs in a wild yet affectionate way—she looks like a benevolent herbal witch 2.0 who’s stepped right out of a thick fairy-tale book. Yet Schirmer is down-to-earth and knows how to combine her love for the archaic with the 1,001 flowers in her magical garden through a holistically thought-out concept. Her website and social media channels guide visitors through her diverse offerings with insights and information.

In addition to leisurely guided tours of her garden, she especially wants to inspire her guests to appreciate the “weeds” that grow rampantly in front of the garden gate, in the immediate vicinity of the house, and at the edge of the forest. After all, ground elder, dandelions, stinging nettles, and ribwort plantain also grow on guests’ own property. You just have to let your eyes wander mindfully during your next walk through the woods and fields—or avoid carelessly pulling up these wild treasures in your garden. At Ina Schirmer’s, these bitter-tart, untamed herbs sometimes find their way into a salad topped with wood sorrel blossoms or a velvety green soup as part of the ever-changing three-course herb menu. “Our ancestors used wild herbs, roots, and berries found in meadows or forests to prepare tasty and health-promoting delicacies,” enthuses the herbalist. “I always take my time, stay completely calm—and then something finds me, or a fox comes by,” muses the hostess.

This year, for the first time in six years, the bee tree bloomed: the nectar from a single flower is enough to fill a bee’s stomach. You learn so many interesting facts here just by taking a leisurely stroll along the trail. Time flies by, even though the program—which includes a hike and a meal—lasts four hours. The image of a garden flourishes and sends its buds straight to the heart, evoking memories of tradition. Here, one becomes contemplative—and the soothing tranquility of this carefully preserved place immediately flows into the autonomic nervous system, with a self-healing effect. Special people find special places, and vice versa. This is also true for those who step through the green gate into Kräuterverbene, where they feel, smell, and see this aura of timelessness, rediscovering something long-forgotten deep within themselves.