SUMMER 2019

Welcome to our allotment in summer!  Quite a contrast to the photo I posted in Winter with the bare oak tree and earth.  And there’s even more in the ground since I took this photo.  It’s been quite a task dealing with the fluctuating temperatures in these early summer months, peaking in the high thirties (I’m talking centigrade) last week.  Watering has been a bit of an arduous task, although I do like to test our plants a bit, and wait until they are starting to wilt before giving them a drink.  My theory is that I’m hardening them, but in reality I’m probably just rescuing them in the nick of time.  Nearly all the seedlings from the greenhouse have now been planted out – I just have a handful of tomato and chilli plants (the ones the snails didn’t eat) remaining.

This year we had artichoke flowers to eat.  This hasn’t happened for a few years as the buds haven’t grown (I have no idea why).  They were really tasty cooked and dipped in garlic butter.

We’ve also been enjoying courgettes, herbs and cut flowers.

I sowed the sweet peas in February.  I haven’t had much success with them in recent years, but perhaps because I took the chance of sowing them early this year (as mentioned previously, we don’t have window sills at home, so they have to start life in an unheated greenhouse), they are doing well.  I’ve loved cutting them, and bringing them indoors with their sweet scent.

I have to confess, I’m not great with creepy crawlies.  I’ve learned to love worms since we’ve had our allotment, and can now pick off slugs (although the large ones still make me gag slightly as they leave slimy gunk on your hands), but I find ants nests and caterpillars a challenge.  People tell me that ants don’t bite, but I can tell you that they do!  Especially those little red ones.  I’ve spent many a night relying on antihistamines to calm down ferocious bites that I’ve succumb to by digging up a nest by mistake.  But every native species plays their part in the lifecycle of an area, and I believe their existence must demonstrate that your environment is healthy.  My initial reaction to coming across these stripy orange and black caterpillars was to get rid of them.

But I did a quick google search on my iPhone and learned that they will turn into Cinnabar moths which are actually quite strikingly  beautiful in their red and black livery.  They are feeding off ragwort and not bothering any other plants on the allotment so I’ll leave them be, much as they freak me out.  I will try and learn to love them.

Much as the allotment can become a bit of a chore at this time of year, I do appreciate the escape it gives me from London life, especially after a tortuous commute home.  I can sit on a tree stump in front of the shed and breath in the aromas, take in the different colours of the flowers and relax.  Plus I usually also take something home for dinner.  These lilies come up next to our little pond – they are short lived but don’t they exude summer warmth in their burnt orange loveliness?

As we start to dig up potatoes I’m sowing a variety of seeds in their place.  I have tiny radish and spinach shoots emerging which I’m hoping we’ll get to eat later in the summer – if another creature doesn’t get there first.  Check in to my next post to find out!

SPRING 2019

In Spring ‘traditionally farmers would go out into a field, drop their trousers and sit butt-naked on the ground to test the soil’  – this is according to Monty Don in his book ‘Down to Earth’.

Tea break at the allotment

Well I’m not sure how that would to down on the allotment, so we usually
wait until the frosts have passed before sowing or planting outdoors.  This year, however, we were caught out.  After having put our remaining potatoes (Marshalls – Colleen and Arran Victory) in the ground, there was an overnight frost. Thankfully they soon recovered and are now growing so fast it’s difficult to keep them earthed up.

We’ve had our allotment for 11 years now, and there’s been quite quite a high turn over in our fellow plot- holders which might surprise anyone who is on a waiting list.

People don’t realise how much work is involved and how frequently you need to visit.  And unless you practically live at your allotment, it’s almost impossible to keep on top of everything.  Just one night away, and something will have snuck into your greenhouse and eaten your chilli seedlings.

(Above is my mixed bag of seedlings in an array of eco-friendly receptacles.  I’m using egg trays, newspaper & coir pots and re-using a few plastic products from the greenhouse).

To continue my thread, plot holders have come and gone and recently there’s been a trend for ‘building stuff’.  It used to be that you could work and listen to birdsong, and the occasional buzzing of a strimmer.  Now there is considerably more hammering and sawing as structures go up for this, that and the other.  We find ourselves too busy trying to grow stuff to attempt any construction work, but each to his or her own.  Visiting in the evenings seems to be the most peaceful time, when tools have been put away for the day.

Sit with me by the fire on our plot at dusk while I expand my thoughts on the topic.  Having an allotment gives you the opportunity to look after a small piece of land, benefitting from anything you are able to grow while being outdoors in nature.

It’s a fantastic space to reflect and live in the here and now, digging your hands in earth and tending to your plants.  You don’t own the space, you’re just its custodian, eventually passing it on to someone else.  I therefore think the less you construct the better (other than a shed and greenhouse of course).

We try to spend as little as possible at our allotment, as otherwise you might as well go to the supermarket for your veg as you aren’t making any savings by growing your own.  Have a peek at my thrifty homemade plant pots below.  I think Monty would approve.

So what do we have in the ground?  Well, other than the potatoes, we have onions (Marshalls – Stuttgarter & Red Baron) and garlic (Picardy Wight).  We have also planted celeriac, kindly donated by another plot holder.  I love celeriac so can’t wait to see how it grows.  The sweet peas have also been planted out, as they grew big and strong in the greenhouse.

I can’t leave spring without mentioning the RHS Chelsea flower show.  It’s a bit pricey even as an RHS member, so I have got into the habit of purchasing a weekday evening ticket which I think is pretty good value for money.  It gives enough time to take in the atmosphere, view the show gardens, and enjoy a Pimms or two on the way.   I found this year to be particularly good, with much naturalistic planting, and less showy garden designs.  It provided inspiration for take away ideas.  I always enjoy the artisan gardens and loved the ‘Walker’s Forgotten Quarry Garden’ for its use of industrial elements and complementary red, orange and rust flowers.

Walker’s ‘Forgotten Quarry’ Garden. RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019

I also loved The Trailfinders ‘Undiscovered Latin America Garden’.  I will leave you imagining that you are walking over that red bridge, immersed in the plants and trees, looking forward to the long, warm days of summer ahead.

The Trailfinders ‘Undiscovered Latin America’ garden. RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WINTER 2019

Welcome back!  I’ve had a little hiatus, not from the allotment, but from this blog.  But I’m back and excited to have you with me as I record how the 2019 season progresses.  Above is a picture of our plot during a freak warm spell in February.  As you can see there isn’t much going on.  But that hasn’t stopped people asking what we’re growing.  The answer is nothing.  Not yet.  We didn’t overwinter any veg this year.  I’ve never had much success with autumn planting as we have clay soil which keeps hold of water during cold weather, providing no drainage for anything planted in the ground. You’ll see some artichoke plants there on the left hand side that have made it through the winter months. But other than that, every thing was cut back or cleared in late autumn.  You can see the wonderful oak tree at the far end which we love as it provides shade in summer and is a great habitat for birds.

However, it does deposit a huge
amount of leaves in autumn
which take a very long time
to clear.  It means filling this shopping cart many times.  Monty Don would tell you to turn the leaves into compost, but I’m afraid I’ve never had the will or the patience.

It’s worth noting at this point that having an allotment involves a fair amount of manual work and that’s why some give up at the first hurdle.  You have to put in some hard graft at this time of year to prepare the ground for planting.  The more work you put in now, the easier it is to work the soil later.  But this is very dependent on the weather.  As I write this I’m witnessing strong wind and rain outside my window as storm Gareth (or is it now storm Hannah) passes by, and there’s no way I’m going out in that.  I maybe from the North, but I have my limits.

If I am at the allotment and the weather turns nasty, I like to retreat into our greenhouse.    It’s sheltered, quiet, and I enjoy tending to whatever seedlings I have growing inside.

This year I’ve tried to get an early start on sowing seeds.  I quite often leave it too late, especially with sweet peas, so I’ve already sown two kinds (Unwins – Percy Thrower & Cathy), and also chillis (Franchi – Pimiento de Padron) and tomatoes (Franchi – Pomodoro).  I don’t have a heated greenhouse, or the luxury of windowsills in my London flat (where it’s always suggested you start off your seeds), so I cover the pots with a clear plastic lid (a recycled supermarket food container), and then surround them with fleece.  I’m happy to report that after only a couple of weeks and varying temperatures, the sweetpeas are already starting to pop up,

And back outside I’ve planted a few second early potatoes (Marshalls heritage collection – Shetland Black), sheltering from hail storms after each row!  I would normally start with getting first earlies in the ground, but for some reason the Shetland Black seed potatoes got a bit carried away and chitted rather over zealously, so I’ve decided to get them outdoors before the shoots take over the spare room.

Now I would just like a little spell of dry calm weather with plenty of sunshine.  And I’m looking forward to the clocks going forward so I can spend time at the allotment after work.  Until then, I hope everyone enjoys spotting the first signs of spring – Daffodils, Blue Tits, Frogs, and my favourite, Primroses.  And talking of frogs I’ll leave you with a picture of frogspawn which has arrived in a our tiny pond.

 

Summer 2015

Here I am digging up probably the largest onion (silvermoon variety) that we’ve ever grown on the allotment. It might not be pristine enough to enter into a show but I think it’s perfect.  I reported in a previous post that the onion sets were in ground that was flooded over the winter, so I’m surprised how well they’ve grown.

The earth was so wet in the autumn that we had to start the garlic off in pots in the greenhouse, planting them out when the ground was dry enough.  For whatever reason, they haven’t done so well.  Some have survived, but a few have had to be added to the compost bin.  That’s the good thing about composting, nothing goes to waste.

A crop that has done well is our potatoes (some with pretty purple flowers).  And we’ve just picked our first courgette – a lovely pale green variety called Alfresco.  We’ll be eating it tonight, so I’ll find out if it tastes any different.

We’ve had plenty of sun so far this summer, with little rain, which has of course been lovely. However, it’s been difficult to keep on top of the watering. When you’re working it becomes quite a chore to try and find the spare time to get out the watering can and prevent your newly planted veg from wilting in the heat.  It takes quite a downpour to replenish the earth with moisture – a light shower barely goes below the surface.  This is why you sometimes see the curious sight of a gardener watering in the rain.  They aren’t as crazy as they look.  As Shakespeare would say, there is method in the madness.

Last weekend we went to the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show.  It was hot and pretty crowded but it’s difficult not to have a good time if you indulge in the flowers, sunshine and of course a little tipple of Pimms.  The above picture shows the cut flowers area of the Just Retirement show garden.  I think it demonstrates what you could do with a very small patch of lawn.  Here in London, most people concrete over what would be their front gardens which makes me sad and does nothing to enhance the environment – visually or to attract wildlife.  The RHS currently has a campaign called Greening Grey Britain – you can read about it on the RHS website.  Here’s some stats to think about;  ‘Over five million front gardens now have no plants growing in them (that’s one in three for the UK) and four and a half million front gardens (one in four) are completely paved over’.

I really liked this idea
that was in the above
Just Retirement garden.
A great space saving solution.
We live in a first floor flat but the downstairs neighbours like the
variety of containers we have installed in front of the house including flowers, herbs, a tomato plant and a couple of small blueberry bushes. Well I’m presuming they like them as they haven’t complained, and they have the whole back garden to play in.  We also have window boxes full of flowers to attract the local London bees.

When time permits, I like to seek out gardens either in, or within easy reach of the city to enjoy a little peace and tranquility.  I recently visited the Kensington Roof Gardens and was really impressed.  Entrance is via a lift on a side entrance off Kensington High Street and the gardens are 100 feet above street level. Immediately after entering on the sixth floor, you are transported into a relaxing environment and you forget the bustling streets below.

There are four gardens; Tudor, English woodland, Wildlife and Spanish (photo below).  My favourite is the latter which is based on the Alhambra in Granada. You can briefly imagine yourself on holiday before heading back down to the ground floor and the hectic metropolis that is London.

And London is where I’ll be spending the rest of the summer, perhaps imagining myself in the warmth of the Spanish garden while in an air conditioned office.  I hope everyone is enjoying the longer days and doing a little something to make their surroundings greener – even if it’s just tending to house plants.  And if you have spare time on your hands, and fancy taking a turn at watering our allotment, just give me holler.  I can give you a courgette or handful of green beans in return 🙂

Spring 2015

Living in London and having an allotment doesn’t always mix well.  The shortest route to our lot entails walking up a main road towards the A40 which means trying to look normal wearing farming gear, garden tools in hand, while passing nicely dressed neighbours and commuters carrying briefcases.  The other day the handle broke on our compost bin next to a bus stop and I had to drop to my knees scraping up old banana peels, tea bags and coffee grinds off the pavement to the amusement of everyone waiting to catch the 266 to Brent Cross.  I have to admit it was a little humiliating.  On my way back from the allotment I popped into the Coop, and it wasn’t until I got back home and looked in the mirror that I realised the shop assistant hadn’t so much been amused by my witty repartee as the streak of mud across my forehead.

Once at the allotment you forget the traffic and pollution and are in a world of your own.  Our plot is sandwiched between two social clubs and their adjoining football pitches, directly alongside the Great Western Railway line.  So we dig and sow to the accompaniment of shunting trains, the colourful expletives of football spectators at weekends and constant birdsong.  Though at this time of year, the predominant somewhat comical sound is that of a woodpecker tapping on a metal pole. Apparently male woodpeckers do this to attract a mate!  For this reason it’s likely you’ll find me with earplugs listening to Gardener’s Question Time.

Above is the garlic we sowed in the greenhouse last autumn.  I planted out the seedlings in the area where mice (allegedly) dug up the broad bean seeds over winter.  Why did I choose that spot?  Because to be honest it was the only area free of grass and weeds. I’d say the hardest work is in spring as you need to clear a season’s worth of growth and debris, trying to make clumps of clay into something resembling soil – it’s the most likely time you’ll see an allotmenteer breaking into a sweat.  I mention this as the most guaranteed response I receive in April when dropping into a conversation that I’m going to spend time at the allotment is ‘oh how lovely!’, ‘What are you growing?’  To which I’m tempted to reply ‘to be honest, it’s not lovely at all unless you enjoy manual labour and we’re not growing anything because it’s been really cold and wet until today’.  But I’m not one to shatter illusions so I nod and say ‘yes it’s lovely, onions and garlic’.

Can-o-worms womery

Breaking news is that we have started a womery.  How exciting is that?  Thank you to friends Jacqui and Tim for leaving us the Can-O-Worms, and Helen for your advice in getting started.  We placed the worms on top of cardboard and coir compost and fed them some tidbits from our veggie waste, and are waiting to see how they settle in and which food they prefer.  Hopefully they’ll provide us with some nice worm juice in return.

Sweet pea seedlings

In the greenhouse I have sown three varieties of sweet pea, hollyhock (thank you Lottie and June), tomato Premio, courgette Alfresco & Lemona, french bean Castandel (pictured poking through the soil to the left), and two packets I received from the RHS members seed scheme – Eragrostis curvula (African love grass) and Agastache rugosa (Korean mint).
I don’t know anything about African love grass or Korean mint, but they sound fancy.  I can’t wait to see what they look like so fingers crossed that I’ve sown them correctly – RHS seeds don’t come with directions.

April 17th is the beginning of National Gardening Week so get out there and see some gardens 🙂  I’ll leave you today with a picture of our allotment manager’s ‘flower bed’.

Winter 2015

Agricultural landscape, Madeira

So what do allotmenteers do during the winter months?  Well I can’t talk for others who probably diligently attend their lots, cleaning up winter debris in preparation for the spring.  But this one only tends to visit when the compost bucket in the kitchen is full to the brim, and has to be emptied before a pungent aroma of rotting vegetable matter takes over the flat.  When I visited our allotment a couple of weeks ago, aforementioned bucket in hand, I was a bit dispirited to see vacant little holes where my broad bean seeds had been sown in the autumn.  I can only imagine some small four legged creature couldn’t resist the temptation of such conveniently planted tasty treats and devoured them with relish.  Then I noticed with increased disappointment that the area where we planted onion sets was extremely soggy and waterlogged so all I could do was pathetically attempt to push the bulbs back into the ground from which they were desperately trying to escape.

Madeira market, Funchal

So in summary, I tend to mainly stay away from our somewhat unproductive allotment at this time of year until the temperature has risen and the ground has started to dry out, and return at a time when I can tackle a new season with renewed optimism.  Which brings me to the photos above – because this winter, this allotmenteer went to Madeira.  If the sun won’t come to me, then I have to travel to where I can enjoy the warmth of its rays, and Madeira seems to enjoy a permanent year round spring.  I suffer from raynaud’s so it was wonderful to have a brief respite from chilblains and frozen fingers.  Here ‘s some horticultural highlights from our trip in December.

Monte Palace Tropical Gardens – Japanese Garden

One of our first ports of call was the Monte Palace Tropical Gardens – a short cable car ride from Funchal town.  It’s amazing.  Truly awesome. Formerly a hotel, the Monte Palace and its garden were purchased by Jose Berardo and restored and opened to the public in 1989.  The landscaping is magical and as you walk through the oriental gardens, you are transported to Japan and China.  Not that I’ve been to either of those countries alas, but you nonetheless feel that you might be wandering through their scenery.  I’m not sure I’ll be incorporating a river of koi at our allotment but the gardens were truly inspiring.

If you ever find yourself in Madeira, take a tip from me, and forget the botanical gardens however tempting they might seem in your guide book. They contain an exotic collection of birds that are kept in such dreadful stark concrete enclosures, it feels like they are awaiting their demise on death row.  If you want to see flocks of healthy happy green parakeets, you can come and visit our neighbourhood in London and see them flying freely over our allotment.

Santana, Madeira

We had an abundance of squash this year  – in fact we still have a box of the spaghetti variety in our kitchen – and it would seem the small holders and farmers of Madeira enjoyed a similar harvest. Our Sunflower walking guide described a ‘gentle ramble’ in the agricultural land around Santana which sounded idyllic so off we went.  I have to admit it was a lovely walk though I would call it more of ‘an energetic 3 hour hike’. Along our way, we saw many squash left out to ripen on roof tops, walls and in the fields.

Incidentally, this outbuilding (above) has been built in the style of the triangular shaped houses which used to be typical in Madeira.  There are a few still remaining in Santana.  And here is a picture of one of them (below).

Triangular house, Santana, Madeira

As an allotmenteer, I am obviously a lover of all things fruit and veg, so imagine my excitement at being at the Madeira Market Night Party on 23rd December. There were stallholders with tables overflowing with regional fruits and vegetables lining the streets of Funchal selling produce all night long.  And I mean, all night long.. There were also stalls that sold beer and a local drink called “poncha” (made of sugar cane rum, sugar cane honey, and lemon juice), and it would have been rude not to have sampled the latter.  Here’s a picture my sister, Catherine, took of the chaos in one of the side streets.

Market Night in Funchal, Madeira, 23rd Dec 2014

And with images of all that colourful fruit and veg in my head, it’s time for me to peruse some seed catalogues and plan for this coming season at the allotment. Let me know if you have any suggestions of what we should plant.

I’m going to leave you with some food for thought, if you’ll excuse the pun.  We popped along to the allotment today and bumped into the Manager.  She was telling us how she was receiving calls from people wanting to be put on the waiting list for vacant lots. When she excitedly revealed to them that there were two plots available and there was no need to wait, the callers said they would prefer to be added to the list! Go figure.. I can only imagine it’s de rigeur in London to tell ones friends at a dinner party ‘oh yes, we have our name on a waiting list for an allotment’ but secretly have no intention to actually get ones hands dirty.

A Great British Summer August 2014

Well we’ll have had a lovely hot sunny summer in London this year, until Hurricane Bertha passed by today that is.  And despite working during the week, the fine weather has enabled me to enjoy the flora and fauna of the capital city and its environs at weekends.  Obviously the photo above wasn’t taken in London – I was with friends in Brighton, but I couldn’t help thinking how nice that boat would look in our allotment!  I had to leave it where it was, however, as I couldn’t figure out a way to bring it home on the train.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show seems like an age ago now, but there was a WWI commemoration theme and I bought some red poppy seeds from Pennard Plants who do a great heritage range.  I love poppies, so of course don’t seem to be able to grow them.  They seem to be a favourite of slugs on our lot, who slither over them and chomp away until there’s nothing left to grow.  I did, however, manage to succeed with a few of the seeds above and grew the below as a small tribute to the veterans of the Great War.

A favourite display of mine this year at Chelsea was ‘The Herbs’ by Bath and East Somerset Council.

Bayleaf the Gardener

I used to love ‘The Herb Garden’ on TV as a kid – maybe it subliminally started my love of growing things – I always related to Parsley, the shy, waving, lion, seemingly always having to sort things out.

Apologies to readers not of my age range or from the UK, who won’t have the faintest idea of what I’m talking about. But to the left is Bayleaf the Gardener to give you some idea.  His song brings back memories of my dad “..You’ll find me sweeping up the leaves and tidying the lawn.”

 

Back at our allotment, we’re having a slightly quieter phase of harvesting, weeding and cutting back. We were able to put so much work into the ground in May and June due to the good weather, that we’re now reaping the benefit of having planted our vegetables and flowers out earlier than usual.

Unfortunately, some of our allotment ‘newbies’ who took on plots with great enthusiasm in the Spring have not maintained their commitment, and some have been given notice to leave already.  It’s sad to see areas completely grown over, and has an impact on the rest of us as brambles and bindweed from untended land starts to spread rapidly.

This year we grew spinach for the first time
(I don’t know why we haven’t tried  before), and it’s delicious. Usually when we grow ‘cut and come again’ crops, there isn’t much to come again for – but I’ve been picking the spinach for a few weeks now. It’s lovely and sweet, without that bitter flavour this plant can sometimes have. And I managed to grow sweet peas which I’ve been cutting and bringing into our flat for a bit of colour and that lovely scent, a bit reminiscent of a granny’s perfume..

 

We’ve also managed to successfully grow chilli peppers outdoors – I’m sure the warm weather has helped.

As followers of my blog will know, I try and only buy vegetables that are grown in the UK, with the exception of chilli peppers as it seems to be hard to find locally sourced ones.  So it’s terrific to have our own home grown supply, at least for the summer.

 

Well here’s hoping our sweetcorn is still standing after the torrential downpours of the storm today, which ironically left us cut off from a water supply here in West London for 5 hours.

I’ll leave you with a picture of me taking one of my many photos at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.  I loved this exhibit (I’d like this in our allotment along with the boat) – it’s called ‘Gluttony’ though I’m not convinced gluttony is adequately portrayed in a can of tomatoes, macaroni cheese, jelly beans and tinned fish!

May 2014 She is Gone

Chilean Guava fruit – ‘KA-POW’

‘The Fruit of the spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance.’ Gal. 5. 22, 23.  Now I’m not usually one to open my blog with a passage from the bible, but on this occasion it seems appropriate. These words are written on a bookmark that I found in a book my mum used to read to me whenever I was ill as a child. My beautiful mother passed away in April and so it is with a heavy heart that this post is dedicated to the most special lady in my life.

Pictured above is a new fruit plant in our allotment – the Chilean Guava shrub called ‘Ka-Pow’.  Who can resist a plant called ‘Ka-Pow’?  I couldn’t, and after a dodgy first few days when the new additions were looking a little shaky, they seem to be doing just fine.  Hopefully they will produce the fruit that ‘look like blueberries and taste like wild strawberries’ that the catalogue promises.  Though truth be told, the real reason I bought them is because they were on sale and I’m all for a bargain.

Here’s a picture of me in my trendy allotment attire and mum’s hat.  I’m standing on our second lot with which my husband, Howard, has done an amazing transformation this year removing bucket loads of couch grass and making it workable at last.

Our allotment as a whole is entering a new era as we have a new Manager and many new ‘tenants’ with different styles of gardening.  We now have many international neighbours – Iranians, Polish, Japanese, Portuguese – all entering into the spirit of the new season either quietly on their own with a spade or accompanied by extended family, lively chat and a rotavator.

My favourite place at this time of year is the greenhouse.  If I don’t feel like talking to anyone I can use is as a quiet retreat – just me and if the mood permits it, BBC Radio 2.  The tomato and chilli pepper seedlings are doing well, as are my recently sown courgettes.  I’ve planted out some of the sweet peas, having had them in the cold frame for a couple of weeks (when I say cold frame, I mean underneath a piece of glass leaning against the greenhouse) and hope they’ll thrive out in the lot.

And here’s a top thrifty tip which many of you out there might know about already.  We were late to the party – my excuse being that I don’t drink coffee. Anyway, we’ve discovered that Starbucks gives away coffee grounds.  For Free! Apparently when added to soil they provide phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and copper.  And they also release nitrogen as they degrade.  They certainly seemed to help revive our chilean guava plants.

One area that is flourishing at the moment and raises the most smiles amongst our fellow allotmenteers is what we call our ‘alpine garden’.  It looks really nice in spring time and is the best way to suppress weeds.  I added a couple of sedum cuttings from my mum and dad’s garden last weekend and it’s lovely to be able to enjoy them in their new home, while remembering fondly where they came from.

I’m so very grateful that mum passed her love of nature onto me.  Surely it’s the most long lasting and precious gift you can give to someone.  One of the many many volunteer projects that she was involved in was creating a flower border at the local train station. It provided a lovely welcome for visitors and commuting residents.  My mother was all about giving.

I’ll leave you with a verse from one of her favourite pieces of music

‘Look at the World’ by John Rutter

Look at the earth bringing forth fruit and flower,
Look at the sky the sunshine and the rain.
Look at the hills, look at the trees and mountains,
Valley and flowing river, field and plain.

March 2014 A Place for Reflection

Our neighbourhood in West London has been lifted out of winter with the gorgeous pinks and whites of blooming magnolia and blossom trees.  Spring is finally here and a new season is upon us at the allotment.

It’s been a tough winter for me as both my dad and and a favourite auntie died, so the allotment has become a place for reflection of the past and an opportunity for new growth.  It’s a nice distraction for me.

In an attempt to ‘take my mind off things’ I finally got around to sorting out all our left over packets of seeds and I’ve discovered we don’t need to buy any more this year, even if it means ignoring a few past their sow by dates.  Following Monty Don’s instructions on Gardener’s World I’ve been busy in the greenhouse sowing sweet peas ‘Spencer mix’, chilli peppers ‘Purple Haze’ & Jalapeno ‘Summer heat’ tomatoes, ‘red cherry’ and Tomatillos ‘mexican’ .

Our greenhouse is one of the only ones still standing  after the winds and rain of the last few months.  Many of our allotment neighbours have been left pondering what to do with piles of glass and frame, all that’s left of their former indoor growing spaces.  As you can see, ours is a bit weather beaten but still upright, and maybe my dad who was a keen gardener, gave it a bit of protection while chatting to Geoffrey Smith up in the heavens.  Mr Smith, who worked as the Superintendent of RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Harrogate from 1954 to 1974 was once quoted as saying “If I am depressed, or I think the world’s a filthy place, I just go and look at a flower.” I do the same Geoffrey.

The broad beans we sowed last 
autumn are doing well and already flowering.  We covered them with fleece after putting them in the ground and I only removed it when I thought there was no more chance of frost earlier this month.

Even our allotment manager was surprised at their growth and noted how well they looked. Whenever she’s impressed with anything we grow I feel like I’m being praised by the headmaster and have a sense of being secretly chuffed with myself.

And of course it’s chitting time when an area of our flat gets taken over by seed potatoes in cardboard trays.  This year we’ve gone for three Albert Bartlett varieties, Anya, Vivaldi and Rooster which are currently taking over our dining table (usually it’s the space under the piano upstairs).  Here’s a picture of the Anya babies looking like frantic little aliens.

I always like to visit gardens for a bit of inspiration and RHS Garden Wisley is quite easily accessible for us Londoners.  There are 240 acres to explore (according to Wiki) and I love this time of year when it’s not too busy and you can find the space to wander on your own among the the wonderful relaxing colours of daffodils, rhododendrons and camellias.  When I was there earlier this week I was thinking about my mum who has been in hospital for some time now, and wishing she could be with me amongst the flowers.  She would so enjoy a little sit down on this bench.

I find nature and working alongside it at the allotment a healing force.  At a time when my emotional strength is being tested to the limit, I’m grateful to be amongst the twittering birds and emerging plants.  It was mum and dad and our lovely back garden that started my appreciation of all things horticultural.  One of my earliest memories is planting daffodils with my dad.  We made sure to plant some at our allotment to herald the start of Spring each year.

DEDICATED TO KEN NEWBY, DAD AND GARDENER
27th Sept 1923 – 6th January 2014

 

 

Autumn 2013

Sowing beans & peas

I’m very happy at the moment.  Why is that I hear you ask.  Well, as I’ve been  ‘between jobs’, much quality time has been spent on the allotment.  Peas and beans have been sown outside utilising some coir compost I found while clearing out the shed, and sweet pea seeds are warm and cosy in plant pots in the greenhouse.   It’s the first time I’ve sown sweet peas in the autumn.  I was so disappointed at my lack of success in growing them this summer that I thought I’d give it a go.  I also dug up an area on our lot that became flooded in the spring which seems to have rendered it less fertile.  I added some vegetable waste direct to the soil and hopefully that will improve the condition of the ground so it will be usable again next year.  I should mention that I didn’t leave the little peas and beans open to the elements as in the photo above.  I tucked them up in soil, more compost and added a layer of bark mulch on top for good measure which will hopefully protect the legume seeds from the harsh winter weather.

September found us in Sicily cycling past vineyards and fields of melons.  The aroma of crushed grapes in the air was amazing.  We also pedalled by miles of olive groves and cherry tomato bushes.

It was a great holiday for breathing in some fresh air, eating locally produced food and getting some exercise.  But I have to say the allotment provides all of the above  and I don’t need to take a flight to be there.  All these elements; fresh air, activity, and eating healthily are important to me as they help me manage my anxiety, a condition if left unchecked can lead to depression.  And I’m in good company here as Monty Don, a fellow sufferer, has been quoted as saying ”Earth heals me better than any medicine”.

Now, you have to understand that when I say I suffer from anxiety, I’m not talking about say, worrying if I remembered to set the DVR to record ‘Strictly’.  The best way I can describe it is by asking you to imagine a situation like going for a lovely dip in the sea.  A wave is coming your way and you jump right into it without a care in the world.  Suddenly without warning, you are dragged under and can’t reach the surface quick enough.  You hold your breath, thoughts come into your mind that you don’t want to entertain, your heart is racing and you do everything you can to make it to the surface.  Finally, seconds later, your head emerges above the sea, you are able to breathe and all is well with the world again.  Go back to that few seconds of panic, and imagine having that feeling 24/7.  It’s not a choice.  If it was, I can assure you it wouldn’t be the choice that I would make.

So this is where the allotment comes in.  It’s a place away from noise (except for birds and the rustling of wind in the trees), a space to reflect, breathe and ponder which plants need encouraging and which need taming.  To quote Monty Don again “The natural world has its own rhythm and it’s important to be in tune with that. As someone who has had depression all my life and suffers from SAD, being outside and working outside definitely helps me.”  I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Talking of large vegetables (yes I know I wasn’t, but I couldn’t think of an appropriate link), it was the RHS London Harvest Festival last week.  Here I am with the second prize winner in the largest pumpkin category.  You might notice that I have a cocktail in my hand. It’s from the Midnight Apothecary and was called ‘Lavender Me’ – vodka, house-made lavender syrup, fresh basil and lemon juice.  Mmmmm.

One of the popular stands was a selection of apples to taste from RHS Garden Wisley.  My favourite variety was ‘limelight’ which funnily enough had the flavour of limes.  Really delicious.   I also purchased a packet of Tilney Mustard green manure seeds from Pennard Plants which I hope we’ll have time to sow in the next couple of weeks.  It’s purpose will be to suppress weeds until Spring and release nutrients into the ground.

Autumn is definitely upon us and we still have the last of the sweetcorn, courgettes, potatoes and onions to enjoy.  If you don’t have an allotment, try and buy seasonal food from local suppliers.  Save those air miles for your holidays 🙂