No. 40 – October 3, 2024
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Yes, Zurich has become more colorful because of him. But the city owes him not only a few beautiful flower beds but also ideas that range from ecological to socio-political.
In 1984, trained landscape gardener Maurice Maggi scattered flower seeds during his walks through the city for the first time. Soon, mallow flowers appeared in unexpected places, mysterious and delicate. Wild seeding, wildflowers—this made Maggi a Swiss pioneer, comparable to Harald Nägeli with his spray-painted graffiti. For forty years, Maggi continued this work; after the mallows, he scattered many other wild seeds, from yarrow to meadow sage. Today, the international term “Guerilla Gardening” exists for this, along with the somewhat tamed, perhaps even gentrified “Urban Gardening.”
His careful handling of the natural environment led him from wildflowers to cooking. It was to be sustainable, seasonal, utilizing local resources, “nose to tail.” There is so much you can do with flowers and herbs in urban spaces. Maggi worked as a chef in various restaurants, including Stör and even in Brooklyn, but mostly in Zurich. He authored distinctive cookbooks, such as “Edible City” (2014), “Simple Diversity” (2016), or the children’s cookbook “Misch und Masch” (2018). But his concern went beyond this; it aimed for a prettier environment for a better life, a local ecology in communities and cooperatives, because: “Mobility is the downfall of humanity.” In contrast, rural life needed to be brought into the city—not nostalgically, but with an eye toward the future.
Maggi and his ideas quickly made their way into the public eye, gaining some prominence. He organized tours, gave lectures, and was recognized as an expert. His ideas found fertile ground, with both private individuals and the city of Zurich. The mallows are blooming, wild herbs are thriving over private installations and urban norm boxes. There are still many sealed surfaces. Zurich still has a lot to learn about greenery, Maggi lamented, and he always had very concrete suggestions, which he stubbornly and at times defiantly advocated.
Suffering for a long time from an autoimmune disease, Maurice Maggi passed away last week at the age of 69. A final book is announced for November: “Soup. A Love Declaration.” Yet another legacy for a more sensory life.