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The fanned fruit trees are included
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Mixed blessing I suppose: hard to put your own stamp on it, but in fantastic condition
i spose it depends on what type of gardener you are,we have a few newbies who would love to be given that lottie,and would prob pass it off as all their own work.we wouldnt like it,gorgeous as it is,because,as you say,how could you put your own stamp on it?
we always say we are grateful for the borderless ten foot high jungle that we got given,we started from scratch and turned it into our own paradise,and won best effort of the year shield to boot,couldnt have won if we had been given that perfect plot. whats the scoop with this one anyway,have you been offered it?
Looks alright to me!
Probablyl not everyone's cup of tea - probably too high maintenance for me with the grass and all - but someone has put a lot of hard work in and if that floats your boat - why not!
Old Bird
;D
I'd treat it with the greatest respect! What personal tragedy lies behind an abandoned plot which someone has lovingly created...? Mind you, I'd certainly build on it...or rather, not "build" but rather dig up that bloomin grass & make some productive veggie beds.... 8)
Nevertheless.....well done the previous owner - wherever you are :-\
WOW!! It looks great! ;D :o Just think of what you can add to make it your own. Love the arches, you could grow beans or peas up those. You could start to dig up the grass to add more beds. I would look on the (very) positive side at how nice it already is and gradually make it your own. Our plot was waist high in brambles and couch grass and it has been 3 VERY long years to turn it around (no weedkiller used) but I would have rather had a tidy plot to start out with. Good luck and show us what you do with it!
The chap who had it has retired to the coast in Essex - too far to commute. Must have been a wrench.
The grass is communal so off limits :)
Ecstatic.... :)
Shame about the communal grass though... ;D
Hi Barnowl Hi all, :)
I`d be delighted, I`ve only ever inherited weeds.
I would like to pass on well maintained and productive plots
when that time comes, and sheds full of useful tools too.
This is how plots should be but they are often left unlet
for long periods and new tenants have to start all over again.
In time you will own it and grow the things you want but without
all the weeks, months or years of scrub clearing.
Best of luck, Col
Nervous! Not sure I'd be able to keep up to that standard!
Well, thanks for the news about the previous tenant - thort he might have left for the Big Allotment in the Sky? :-[ It must certainly have been a wrench for him tho, as he undoubtedly created this from a weedy wilderness - bit like Stork, now harvesting cherry toms in Hot Climes but still heavy-hearted about his 'lotment back in..Harlow, was it?
Hope the new tenant does the old 'un credit - on both the plots :)
Grateful that I didn't have to hack my way thro 10 rods worth of weeds and brambles and initially that I was the plots custodian. This season I would grow the usual stuff and see what else pops up. Then next year, when it felt more like 'mine', I would think about which bits of the plot worked or not for me and then start to make changes.
I'd be thrilled! Turning my own lawn into beds has been hard enough work, given that half of it is actually couch grass; an untrimmed hedge and a rampant Russian vine haven't helped. Yes it's satisfying to see it change, but it's been slower than I'd like, and I've had enough of digging, frankly! I still have quite a lot of that ahead of me. (Plus a concrete path to pull up.) Walking straight in and having nothing to do but plant - heaven! I suppose I'd feel a bit sorry when my handmade cloches and so forth lowered the tone - but everyone has their own style, I wouldn't feel it was my garden if it was super-neat - and it certainly wouldn't stay that way long.
I think that I had died and gone to heaven.
I would be pleased to get a clean plot like that to start off with instead of the jungle I took on. For me - it is too much grass for what an allotment is supposed to be for. It is supposed to be for cultivation, not a lawned garden. The lawn is a 'must' on the to go list.
The lawn isn't theirs, though, KT! It's the communal bit.
Haven't had much of a chance to chat to the new occupiers yet, so not sure what their plans are. They are probably in hiding because everyone keeps tellling them how lucky they are.
When I first saw them I did mention (as well as telling them how lucky they were ;D) that the previous tenant had been a bit of a guru to me when we started a few years ago and they said in that case I'd have to be their guru - so I guess they're not very experienced :) !
I'm not proud - I'd be over the moon.
Our council 'in their wisdom' now insist that every plot that is vacated is completely cleared of anything other than vegetation - recently an old boy sadly passed away and his wife gave notice for his plot that was similarly immaculate with water troughs, paths, structures etc.
The council flattened and cleared the lot and billed her £240. :'(
That's awful >:(
Quote from: Barnowl on March 26, 2009, 11:02:54
That's awful >:(
Yes sacrilege that his work of 20+ years was 'punished', brought a tear to my eye.
God, Raisedbedted, that's awful! Can't you all write to the council, petitioning them not to be so stupid in future? They could offer the new tenants the *option* of having a plot restored to an empty canvas, but lots of people would have loved the plot the way it was, surely? They're cutting off noses to spite everybody's faces, behaving that way. And what heart-breaking cruelty to the widow. :(
Stupid council >:(
If I was offered a plot like that I would be so happy. ;D
What happened to all the materials that the council took away? Surely they could have been recycled. It just goes to show you if they had targets for it it would be different
Apologies for taking thread a bit O/T Barnowl.
We took over a second plot about 2 years ago. When we saw it it was perfect - lovely large raised beds and big bays for manure/compost etc. The day before we took it over the old tenants ( who were being evicted for non cultivation) were there ripping everything up and burning it.
I went over to them a little annoyed that they would be so beligerant and also to see if I could offer them a little money to leave it there to be told that the council had said they woul be charged £400 if it was still there by the morning.
Yes, I think I will write to the council - they need to discern between plots used as dumping grounds and those with useful allotment infrastructures.
Quote from: raisedbedted on March 26, 2009, 11:46:12
Yes, I think I will write to the council - they need to discern between plots used as dumping grounds and those with useful allotment infrastructures.
Blanket policies never seem to work do they?! I'm sure the widow of the plotholder would appreciate not having to pay the money as well.......
The rules were obviously drawn up by people who don't know anything about allotments, imagine them to be flat empty spaces of bare earth, and don't know that raised beds even exist, or that water butts, compost containers, etc are part of the necessary furniture of an allotment. What a horrible waste of effort to make every allotment-holder start from scratch, whether they want to or not! Idiots! Ooooh I'm feeling quite upset about this! (Note to self - calm down!)
Quote from: raisedbedted on March 26, 2009, 11:46:12
Apologies for taking thread a bit O/T Barnowl.
No problem - you've raised an important issue
it's always worth doing a bit of research on any plot before you take it on.
look into what your getting.
;D
To me it is part of the enjoyment of taking over a plot as to what you discover on it, even if that does turn out to be a load of junk! I was offered the choice of an ex committee members plot she was giving up because she had one nearer her home, and an overgrown unloved mess for my first plot in 2006. I chose the mess, because I felt I could put my own stamp on it, and as a newbie was worried I would be judged against her standards if I took over the 'ready made' one. I really enjoyed getting it back into cultivation, and found all sorts of bits and pieces to reuse. OH and son are now doing the same thing with an even worse plot, bramble paradise so bad we couldn't even get through the door when we first looked at it!
I know it is not everyones idea of fun, but hey, vive la difference! ;D
Just had a quick sneak at that old patch Deb... Bramble heaven!! ::)