Sunday 26 September 2010

My Other Garden...

I thought today I'd show you some photos of the allotment I help with at the National Trust property I volunteer at.  Yesterday I went to the property as a visitor so I could take my camera (I never take it when I'm volunteering because me + camera+ mud would = broken camera!)

We started in the spring when it was a bare patch of earth, we've done a lot of digging of manure, lots of weeding, planted lots of seeds and watered lots of baby plants and this is the result - although it looks slightly soggy and sad now because most of the potatoes, courgettes, marrows and dwarf beans have finished.  I'm more interested in growing food than growing flowers, and we don't have this much room at home so this has been a really good chance to learn more about it.



That's our allotment to the left, the other ones belong to members of the community.  We've been selling our veggies to the public when the property's open (in plastic bags if you can believe it!  I'm so cross about that and am trying to use all my powers of persuasion to convince the head gardener to order in some paper bags or something more eco friendly).  Can you see the tufty plant that grows in our allotment, we don't know what he is but he has really big roots, and I liked the look of him, so he was allowed to stay, now he's made some beautiful flowers - thanks tufty plant!

3 comments:

  1. What a marvellous allotment!!! It seems a garden! You, English people, are very able in growing plants as for food and for ornamental gardens! Well done!

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  2. Sooz,
    Encourage your head gardener to contact anotehr NT property to see how they sell their produce. Like you I think it is silly selling in plastic bags. Geislton Gardens where i go now and again, don't even put their produce in paperbags. Teh only thing in containers are the berries, everything else is loose or tied in bands. Plastic bags would also cost more. Hope you change his/her mind.

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  3. Thanks Danda, the allotment is part of a much much bigger garden, the allotments are actually to one side of the drive to the property and the trees you can see are redwoods that line the driveway...the black and white building you can just see in the background is the stables and garage...it's all very grand..I'm so lucky to be able to spend so much time there :)

    Mangocheeks, we do have strong links with antoher NT property in our county, like Geislton they don't use plastic bags to sell their produce, my gardener hasn't caught on though (he's a stubborn one!) I have made my veiws on the plastic bags quite clear and I found some wholesale paper bags quite cheap on ebay, so next year I'll ask him to get some, or buy them myself and donate them - that way he'll have to use them!

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