Ashfield and Briary Allotments Association
A personal project by Chris Bruce
The gardeners of the Ashfield and Briary Allotments Association start at the beginning of April preparing their plots for the coming season. Seedlings are brought out of home greenhouses, weeds are dug up, the plastic sheeting put up on the polytunnels and general maintenance done the plots.
Then, as the weather warms the soil, the plants begin to flourish and the harvesting of produce and flowers can begin. The rest of the summer is spent watching everything grow, including the weeds, and picking the vegetables and fruit to take home and eat. Towards the end of summer, the growers of show vegetables and flowers check their best exhibits and hope they will win a prize at a show. And then its time to take down the polytunnels, tidy up the plots and wait for the cycle to begin again.
There are over 30 plots on the site and the gardeners are a very varied group of people, ranging from those who grow flowers and vegetables for show to families encouraging their children to become involved in gardening. Growing your own fruit and vegetables has always been very popular but has become even more important in these days of rising food prices and healthy eating. The allotments tend to be so productive that the families and neighbours of the gardeners also benefit. Looking after an allotment gets rid of many of your everyday worries, replacing them with concerns about carrot root flies and cabbage white butterflies.
I wanted this project to celebrate the work of all these gardeners and to show how having an allotment can be such a positive experience for so many people from a diversity of ages and backgrounds. The allotment plots themselves are so beautifully kept and so colourful that they make a fabulous display for everyone to enjoy.
The gardeners of the Ashfield and Briary Allotments Association start at the beginning of April preparing their plots for the coming season. Seedlings are brought out of home greenhouses, weeds are dug up, the plastic sheeting put up on the polytunnels and general maintenance done the plots.
Then, as the weather warms the soil, the plants begin to flourish and the harvesting of produce and flowers can begin. The rest of the summer is spent watching everything grow, including the weeds, and picking the vegetables and fruit to take home and eat. Towards the end of summer, the growers of show vegetables and flowers check their best exhibits and hope they will win a prize at a show. And then its time to take down the polytunnels, tidy up the plots and wait for the cycle to begin again.
There are over 30 plots on the site and the gardeners are a very varied group of people, ranging from those who grow flowers and vegetables for show to families encouraging their children to become involved in gardening. Growing your own fruit and vegetables has always been very popular but has become even more important in these days of rising food prices and healthy eating. The allotments tend to be so productive that the families and neighbours of the gardeners also benefit. Looking after an allotment gets rid of many of your everyday worries, replacing them with concerns about carrot root flies and cabbage white butterflies.
I wanted this project to celebrate the work of all these gardeners and to show how having an allotment can be such a positive experience for so many people from a diversity of ages and backgrounds. The allotment plots themselves are so beautifully kept and so colourful that they make a fabulous display for everyone to enjoy.