Sarah Henry & Iain Sutherland
We had a wonderful day judging the New Plotholder Awards (. Our new judge, Angela Smith from the RHS, is knowledgeable, enthusiastic and passionate about allotments and the benefits they provide. (Full results for 2018 on the Awards page.)
We were extremely impressed with the all hard work that had gone into each of the plots. There was a wonderful variety and creativity of approach displayed by the applicants, with sheds and greenhouses built out of recycled materials and clever ideas for garden planning and planting. This was made all the more impressive since new plotholders had been confronted by extremely challenging conditions. Many of the plots were overgrown with pernicious weeds and full of rubbish which had to be cleared first. It was incredible how quickly they had all been transformed into productive, healthy and inspiring growing spaces.
The standard of the plots was so high that it took Angela’s expert eye to pick out the finer details between the various applicants. Selecting the winner was tough and we spent a full hour discussing it. John Moody from South Western Allotments took top place, with Michael Ekins from Mansewood Allotments as second. Both of them had shown real imagination in transforming difficult plots and creatively recycling materials to make beds and sheds. Angela was especially keen on allotments which showed environmental responsibility and had systems for composting and water harvesting in place. All in all, it was a fantastic day and I am looking forward to next year already.
Many thanks to Angela and to all the applicants for allowing us onto their plots, each one was special and unique.
Pop-Up Civic Canteen
As part of the cultural strand of Glasgow 2018 European Championships the Civic Canteen will be open from Thursday August 9thto Sunday August 12th, see the programme at Civic Canteen . In the evenings there will be workshops using local and seasonal ingredients. Jan MacDonald from Mansewood Allotments will be co-hosting the workshops on Thursday and Saturday with Scotland’s National Chef Gary Maclean .