At this point I have to confess: I don't own a garden at all.

Of course I would like one.

I picture myself strolling across the dewy lawn on a summer morning, past wildflowers, lavender, and an apple tree toward the roses, smiling gently at their scent.

However, not having a garden also has advantages, at least for my meniscus and shoulder joint, as I learned on the GardenFit show.

Without a garden, there's still time for American reality shows about people who have one.

If you think of sex, drugs and the Kardashians when you think of reality TV, you're wrong.

"GardenFit" runs on the public broadcaster PBS, which is apparently the equivalent of 3Sat in terms of glamor factor, and that's probably why you can watch the show online for free from Germany.

An Eiffel Tower just for me

Johanna Kuroczik

Editor in the "Science" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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The show aims to protect home gardeners from strained muscles, back pain and overstretched ligaments with fitness exercises.

Anyone who frequently trims bushes, mows lawns or pulls weeds knows these symptoms.

The knee joint suffers particularly during gardening.

In the crouch, it comes under enormous pressure, the meniscus is squeezed.

Overstretch the muscles in the thigh, which affects the kneecap's plain bearing.

Such problems also plagued Madeline Hooper, a retired PR lady, and she found help from fitness trainer and former soap star Jeff.

He's also past fifty, but his mountains of muscles can undoubtedly keep up with those of the young Schwarzenegger.

Together they travel across America to admire gardens and to make their owners "GardenFit".

Of course, these are no ordinary gardens, where the lawn is turning yellow and the fence could use a coat of paint.

Rather private parks, created by garden designers.

Jeff and Madeline walk through desert gardens, Japanese botanical artworks and also an art farm where all the plants are accurately trimmed into geometric shapes.

In the first episode we meet former party planner Renny Reynolds (I'm just saying: Studio 54), whose pride is a French-inspired garden.

Actually, there are 24 gardens on the area of ​​42 soccer fields, in one of which there is a house-high Eiffel Tower.

This decadence of perfectly styled vegetable beds (or as Renny calls them in American: "potagers"), rose bushes and fountains makes the viewer increasingly jealous until a pot of begonia proves that Renny is only human.

Coincidentally, as is usual on reality TV, it's in the middle of the path, and Renny bends down to move it aside.

That's the job for fitness trainer Jeff - he shows Renny and the spectators the correct way to lift a heavy flower pot: get close to the pot, spread your legs as wide as possible,

squats deeply and pulls the pot towards the hips when standing up.

Renny also has pain when trimming the hedge.

Not surprising, since he is not the youngest and there are apparently around 15 kilometers of hedges growing in his “garden”.

He holds his arm at an angle when working, which irritates the bursa in the shoulder joint.

A stretching exercise prevents this.

Jeff performs: arms up in the air, then to the side.

I don't want to give away all of Jeff's fitness secrets here, just one more thing: when pulling weeds, crouch low and prop yourself up on one leg.

This exercise is from the second episode, there are 13 episodes.

Once I've looked through them all, I'll undoubtedly be armed with my own Eiffel Tower if something happens.