The winter allotment

I took advantage of a break in the atrocious wet weather yesterday, and made a quick trip to the allotment.  Not to do anything you understand, just to look, to make sure it was still there.  It was.  And while wandering I snapped a few pics of sheds and things.

I love the sheds, and I love the seats.  They're essential on an allotment I think.  I only have a deckchair at the moment, but I dream of a bench.  How nice it would be to sit here, maybe with someone else, and look out over the Kingdom of Allotmentland.  A little break from tending to the soil.  A cup of hot chocolate in a nice enamel mug.  Maybe a piece of toast.

Down at the allotments every inch is precious.  Things are squeezed in wherever there's a space.  This is an apple tree, espaliered along the back of a shed.  Wonderful.  Aldi were selling fruit trees when I went in today.  It took every ounce of self-control not to buy one.  If the site didn't have such a strict rule about tree height I would have definitely bought one.  But keeping a tree under 7' is tricky.

Love the slow creep of moss and lichen across stone.  I just want to run my hand over the moss.

A few early daffodils were out.  They're not my favourite flower, but nonetheless it's nice to see a harbinger of spring.

Sprouts.  I do like them, a lot.  But they're not the most attractive sight at this time of year.  I wouldn't mind some on my plot next year though.

Another shed.  In the background you can see my green shed, next to its brown neighbour.

This is it.  My plot.  Not much to see.

The soil looks like this.

Hammered down flat and shiny by the incessant rain.  But there's no flooding around here, so I'm not complaining.  Just the odd little puddle.

My rhubarb (round the back of the shed) is appallingly overgrown with grass.  It wasn't that strong last year, and I'm not sure if it's going to appear at all this year.  No sign of it yet, although it's not an early variety.  This was someone else's rhubarb.

This is the old rose, which only finished flowering very late in the autumn.  Already it's readying itself for the new season.

The blackcurrants are looking good, covered with big fat pink buds.

This is the stream at the bottom of the site.  You can see my shed in the left of the picture.

Another shed, another bench.  Is it just me?

Every year there are prizes for the best allotments.  Points are awarded for insect habitats, so there are all sorts of little hotels and things for bugs to hide in.

Pottering round I saw old things and new things.

And even in winter, some nice little corners.

By the time I left the sky had filled with rain clouds again.  Just as soon as there's a dry spell, I'll return to actually do some work down there.  Here's hoping.