Thursday 17 October 2013

How I use my allotment

I can never think of snappy blog titles- this one is what it says it is! 

My allotment is to grow fruit, veg, and flowers- of course!  But it is also, for me, a touch of green, a link with the countryside, a chance to interact with wildlife and experience the changing of the year. 

Here in Walthamstow, East London, the great news recently was the successful prosecution of the first two people for spitting on the street.   (£80 fine, and no they didn't bother turning up in court). I do love living in London and I'll defend my "manor" to outsiders, but really the grey misery of it (in parts!) does get to me occasionally- and this is where the allotment comes in handy.  

Even if the outside impinges with the continued weekly mass thefts from virtually every plot on site, still the green-ness is there, the flowers, the colour, the birds and the still-ness.  I find myself become rather strange if I don't experience  this urban wild for a few days.  I have to be able to experience living things other than humans!

I've just listened to Radio 4's Ramblings in which a listener Cathy Dreyer took Toyah Wilcox on a short walk from her home that she plans to do 365 times- you can see her blog here: http://walkinginacircle.wordpress.com/     I really like this idea of walking the same route every day in all weathers and conditions- the idea of observing in depth the subtle or the larger changes every day. I get that from the allotment too- and I think back gardens can do the same- whether your world is large, or small, it's the detail that makes life more interesting, and can be calming and stimulating in turn.

So, here are some photos taken in the last week of things I am enjoying seeing and eating in the allotment and garden.
















8 comments:

  1. Where I used to work was a small stately home type place in its own grounds and my journey there on a morning was down country lanes. The changing seasons was so evident. On one occasion after a hoar frost it looked like fairyland and I had to stop the car and take a photo on my mobile phone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds beautiful Sue- the best of winter!

      Delete
  2. Nice thoughts, mostly. Not the bits about thefts and spitting in the street. Unfortunately there are some pretty bad / anti-social people about. That's why horticulture is often used in rehabilitation - for its calming effects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's certainly always calm on the allotment Mark, doesn't feel like London at all!

      Delete
  3. My office, until we moved, was also in a stately home, with a 1 mile walk from the tube to the building down a peaceful lane. It was wonderful to see the seasonal changes and to hear and see the birds and other wildlife.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I know it was a great place for birding Frax!

      Delete
  4. The chard looks amazing - the leaves are like hammered bronze and the red so vibrant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Frax, Chard is naturally photogenic!

      Delete