Hands up if your allotment provided a real sanctuary for you this year? You’re far from alone…
Allotments have by and large remained open during the coronavirus outbreak, and hooray for that. They have provided a horticultural haven for people to escape to. Especially for those where gardening space is a bit thin on the ground at home.
Lizzie Tyte and Ben Howard began their allotment journey in Ipswich a year ago this month. Both have their own allotted responsibilities. Lizzie is in charge of seed sowing, pruning and planning, whereas Ben is your man when it comes to construction, weeding and inventing. Lizzie explains how their love of gardening has been a saviour for them this year:
‘We moved in together just over five years ago and I guess that’s where our love of gardening and growing food started. It was a slow process. Like many, we started with a tomato plant and then year-on-year it expanded, until one day we found ourselves with an allotment! Which, as you will see from our picture, was a massive project with weeds nearly as tall as us. Now, nearly a year on, we grow more than 50 varieties of fruit and veg. Enough to feed us and some family and friends, too.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. We have battled stubborn weeds and pests, grown plants in wrong conditions and even nurtured a weed in a pot which we thought was an aubergine. However, the beauty of gardening is: no matter how experienced you are, you never stop learning and growing yourself.
Our love of gardening has been a saviour for us this year. We count ourselves so lucky that we have been able to escape to the plot for our daily exercise. If ever we are feeling a little anxious or stressed, gardening is our go-to. There is nothing better than putting your hand in the soil and connecting with nature, nurturing life from a seed and then reaping the rewards. Whether that’s a beautiful bloom of flowers in a vase or a plate full of salad.’
https://www.instagram.com/allotment_cubs/
Ellen Mary, of Ellen Mary Gardening, happened to be in America at the start of lockdown. She couldn’t wait to get back to her plot back home in Norwich:
‘When lockdown hit, I was in North Carolina, USA. We didn’t know how long we would be confined to an apartment for, but thankfully we had a balcony which was most definitely a sanity saver for me. Tending to the pots and growing salads and vegetables and watching the bees, on the top floor of an apartment block, was great. But, my allotment back in the UK is my little world of loveliness and I missed it so much.
Eventually, when I made it back to the UK and got down to the plot, my excitement was very real! All of a sudden, the prior months seemed to melt away as I weeded, pruned and planted as much as I could, to make up for lost time.
It’s quite remarkable how plants catch up. It wasn’t long before I was harvesting salads, an abundance of tomatoes and squash. And the cut flowers have been fantastic this year.
Being on the allotment is like therapy, away from the madness of the world. It has made me so happy to be back getting my hands in the soil again.’
Photographer Juliet Wade, of Flowerhouse Images, felt like she was one of the lucky ones for having an allotment to escape to this year:
‘I put my name on the allotment list as soon as I moved to Norwich because I wanted more growing space as my garden is small. I got it in August 2019.It was so overgrown that I decided to wait until spring to clear it
Allotment holders were the luckiest people during lockdown. We were allowed to go there as a form of exercise. I used the lockdown time to fully clear my allotment and get planting. It gave a structure to my day and a purpose during a very odd time. Everything felt normal there. It was only when you left to see empty streets and no traffic that you remembered it was lockdown. It was good to see other people there working as well. We were able to communicate with others from a distance!
You have to be committed to wanting to grow things and maintain it – it’s not easy. Quite often the plots have become neglected by the time they are offered to tenants. If you prepared to commit yourself to it put in the hard work to get it up and running and make it part of a lifestyle then it’s worth getting one. It will take me a few years to get it to where I want it to be.
There’s lots to do in autumn: clearing the site ready for next year, planting overwintering veg and doing a general tidy up. Winter is quiet. There’s not so much to do and probably too cold to be there for any length of time – unless you have a greenhouse or cosy shed.’
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