Allotment Tales // Hello Sunshine!

We have finally been able to get down to the allotment and complete some long-awaited tasks this weekend. The sunshine has finally come out and the rain has stopped for long enough for us to do some weeding, planning and plotting.

Of course, the rain has been much-needed and has meant that our established plants such as herbs, or those which were over-wintering like the onions and broad-beans, are doing really well. These chives are flowering in abundance and I'm looking forward to using the flowers in some summery salads and pasta dishes, for a garlicky flavour. 

Now that the ground has dried out a bit, we have been able to plot out our sections and paths, get rid of the insane amount of weeds and begin sowing seeds. Last year, my strawberries were in the ground and they didn't do particularly well. Slugs and birds got to them and it was difficult to keep them weed free. This year I have put them in a raised bed. Strawberries do prefer being in containers, so hopefully we'll get a better crop. They'll be easier to cover with a net to keep birds away as well.

The most exciting development, however, is that we have our very first bench! Now we'll be able to sit in a bit more comfort and enjoy a tea-break when we're down there. We've plotted out the section in front of it to look a bit more like a cottage kitchen-garden - with a curved path, small plots of lettuce, herbs and flowers  - rather than the long drills of vegetables we have in the remainder of the allotment. With a wigwam of sweet peas, lavender and chamomile around the bench, I'm hoping it will be a lovely place to sit.

Happy gardening to those of you who do - I hope the sunshine stays out for you and you're been able to create a little bit of garden magick in the coming weeks. We certainly have this weekend!