After some very light haranguing, may we present The Grand Map & Plan of Allotment Device!
Above, at last, is the layout of Allotment Device. It is too long to fit on one page...
I spent a good half an hour yesterday striding up and down, back and forth measuring my allotment in steps (because it was easier than fannying around with a tape measure), sketching and jotting as I went. Which is why it is rather rough (instead of grand) and somewhat illegible (I added the black biro labelling today - I hope you can read it).
Anyway, one enters the allotment from the south (lower left corner)...
... and is accosted by the staging area/dumping ground and Leaning Shed.
(It's easy to miss the three thornless blackberries and the greengage tree in the far right corner.)
Turn right immediately past the Leaning Shed to find the water station (some old tubs & barrels and a bath complete with water hawthorn), and rhubarb beds. The stuff that's not rhubarb is horse radish.
[Photo from 21 03 2026]
Turn yourself around to face north again and you'll find the useless fruit cage (now almost netless). In the near left corner is an elderly goosberry bush with a row of raspberries running to the right. In the centre are the recently hacked remains of the horrid redcurrant (Bitey is doing a terrible job of digging it up) with another on the far right, and there's a blackcurrant (which I've spared for another year) at the far left. At the far right is the cherry tree - the flowers are coming from a couple of suckers from the original rootstock.
[Photo from 21 03 2026]
Beyond the useless fruit cage is a non-horrid pear (and artichoke)...
[Photo from 30 03 2026]
... the view down the allotment with apple trees down the left, and the big plum in the middle...
[Photo from 30 03 2026]
... the bonfire patch on the right with a Victoria plum followed by more raspberries and some loganberries.
[Photo from 25 03 2026]
Here are the shooting loganberry canes.
[Photo from 28 03 2026]
At the far end, beyond three small beds of Crocosmia "Lucifer" (and foxgloves), the Bramley apple (left with daffs) and another rhubarb bed (right), is a lightly clipped box with a big bay tree behind it (left), the horrid pear (centre), and Allotment HQ in the process of being swamped by honeysuckle and the giant triffid loganberry (I'm trying to train it over that makeshift metal pergola instead).
[Photo from 28 03 2026]
Here is the view back up the allotment from in front of the horrid pear.
[Photo from 28 03 2026]
And here is a lovely little primula/primrose (and Bitey) under the giant triffid loganberry.
[Photo from 21 03 2026]
The floor is now open for questions and comments. Thank you.
* I couldn't find a brown envelope on which to map out my allotment in white ink and coloured pencil crayons, so the Grand version will have to wait until another day.
Well done. The allotment looks like a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mitchell. It is a lot of work, but I love being up there pottering around - when the weather's conducive to it, that is.
DeleteLove it! It's hard to visualise it from the winter's overgrown, neglected look, but WOW! It scrubs up nicely! I'm holding off anything too grand til I see whaat winter
ReplyDeleteI would love to be allowed to do some major work here, but we are not the major stake-holders!
Yes, a bit of sunshine, weeding and a light strim makes everything look better!
DeleteThat's the thing, isnt it. When taking on a new garden, it's helpful to see what...
Something went wrong! I'm waiting to see what winter looks like here. I think frost will be likely, especially once the plum , peach and apple trees are bare!
ReplyDelete... the different seasons bring so one can plan accordingly.
DeleteI know what you mean about being minor stakeholders. I have the same issue with Hexenhausli Device Gardens. I'm often told that I can do what I want, but in reality there is a lot of meddling and "No"s so I just go along with it. Mostly.
There are some very big jobs to do there, if you really want it to work as planned (removing some of the "horrid" trees, for a start, and repairing/removing derelict sheds/netting etc....
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Jon. There are some big jobs - but none that won't wait until I can be bothere- I mean, until I retire! (Only six years to go, fingers crossed.)
DeleteA new fruit cage is needed as the existing frame is very rickety. The horrid redcurrant stumps really need digging out as they're taking up valuable growing space. The horrid pear is getting another stay of execution - I'm going to see how it does this year then it's decision time. The bonfire patch needs digging over to create a new planting bed (bonfires will be on the concrete next to the Leaning Shed). And that's just for starters!
"Fruit cage" would be a good name for a punishment room at Infomaniac.
DeleteI imagine it will soon fill up with familiar faces.
DeleteOh you have your work cut out! I will send you a brown envelope and some crayons, that should help.
ReplyDeleteThe shed looks like it's straight out of Eastenders!
Sx
They will help immensely, Ms Scarlet. I will be able to make proper plans so that I know what I'm doing. And I will even be able to work on the allotment when it's raining!
DeleteI haven't actually been in the Leaning Shed for years! I've only ever stuck my arm through the doorway to get something. I hope Arthur Fowler's mummified corpse isn't langushing in there somewhere!
I must admit when I saw your shed the film Deliverance did spring to mind but no your allotment is a joy and a wonder. It would be to much for me to manage but I must also admit that I am rather jealous.
ReplyDeleteI've not seen Deliverance so just looked it up on Wikipedia. As far as I'm aware, no toothless 'mountain men' live in my leaning shed. Although Arthur Fowler might be - see above.
DeleteThe allotment is rather a lot to handle which is why I mainly grow fruit. Once the canes, bushes and trees are established, they don't need any watering or regular maintenance so all I have to do is weeding and grass cutting. And harvesting!
Like everyone else, I'm fascinated with the leaning shed.
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated with how it manages to stay standing - albeit at such an angle. My brother-in-law stuffed it full of huge polystyrene packaging blocks at one point and I was convinced that it was them that kept it upright. However, he moved them all out last year and it is still standing.
DeleteIt does not move or shake when touched or blasted by the wind, so perhaps it has found its equilibrium?
That is a LOT of space in your allotment, sweetpea! Is that the norm or is because of where you are? I've watched gardening shows out of the UK that show allotments (which I think is such a grand idea), but they seem much smaller! I like the idea of gardening, but not so much the actual work! xoxo
ReplyDeleteYears ago, allotments used to be BIG to ensure enough crops could be grown to feed the family (and neighbours). Now, however, they can be all sizes. Mine used to be twice the size - it used to stretch down to the track (in the first image) but The Mother split it in two (when she had it) because it was too much for her to deal with.
Delete