The What my Allotment Means to Me project was photographed between the first two UK lockdowns. With the current situations and restrictions in place, the allotment has become the perfect project for me to get to know my fellow plotholders. The allotment has become a haven for our community, providing a means of escape, quiet nature, companionship and a great sense of community.

The project encompasses interviews with the plotholders and stories about the history and up-keep of the allotments. The project will form part of a book, to be published in June 2021, celebrating the centenary of the royal warrant giving the land over to the local people to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

I also took the opportunity to photograph a short film about the project called The Salad Days; you can see that here:

Chris and Marguerite have had a plot on our allotment since 1966! Chris says “They are still trying to get their plot into shape…”

Chris and Marguerite have donated a considerable amount of their time to the development and running of the Royal Paddocks Allotments. Marguerite was the secretary for many years and has “Seen it all really!’ Chris has had his hand in rebuilding the Seed Store Cafe, the roads and pathways and was responsible for the design and build of the compost toilet.

Kathryn, ”My allotment provides many things…. fulfilment and a sense of achievement, the feeling of time well spent and at the end of all the hard work you get to share and eat the produce throughout the year. What’s not to like!”

Ben: The Wonky Carrots. “What does this allotment mean to me? It is a blank canvas upon which you can realise all your schemes and fantasies and things that you think about in the bath of doing, and then you can come here, and you can build them. You can build a shed entirely out of bits of old wood people have thrown away in skips. You can collect a ton and a half of rainwater every year in a rainwater harvesting scheme. You can build a solar panel, an irrigation system, and you can try it all out. You can dig a hole for no reason whatsoever, and then think of something to do with it later. At the end of all that you can also grow cucumbers which are funny shapes, and sweetcorn which the birds mainly eat, and wonky carrots and courgettes, and courgettes, and courgettes…”

Buala, let’s her produce do the talking.

Matt

Liz & Jenny

Andrew

Janet & Nick, Janet says: ” I’m a foodie. I like to grow soft fruits and veg that you can’t buy in the

supermarkets, things like damsons, gooseberries and interesting verities of common fruits that you don’t see every day. I’m also very concerned about air miles and organic growing. So, that’s what my allotment means to me!”

Nick says: Since I was a kid, I’ve loved growing things as well as making things. When I was a teenager, I was given a little bit of land on my parents garden, which I could treat as mine. I wanted to be a farmer for a brief period. Later on, as a student, I got absorbed into self-sufficiency, and I’ve always had a philosophy of good husbandry. So, when we moved here, I couldn’t resist when I saw the allotment gate was at the end of the road.

Ray is one of the Pump Team who fix the water pumps at the allotment. Ray says: ”I have never considered myself as a gardener, I don’t like gardening. I am though, really interested in food production, and in a way, the allotment connects me to that. That is my real interest.”

The Salad Days: a short film from the What My Allotment Means To Me Project.