[miss k]

Hi, I'm new to this site and I was just wondering whether any of you could help? I have an allotment but no garden.  I have always wanted a garden as I'm keen to grow a lot of specialist plants and shrubs. My question is whether it is frowned upon to have your main growing area focused on fruit and veg but to fill your borders with ornamental shrubs and bushes (nothing that will keep light off others plots)?  I have lots of ornamentals I would love to plant but am a bit worried it will turn into more of a garden than an allotment.  Another reason for wanting to grow flowering plants is that I have a daughter and would love her to have somewhere for her to garden.  My final query is around the fact that I could really go to town on planting in my allotment and make it both beautiful and practical but am very nervous about something going wrong and losing the plot for some reason or another...is this common?
Hope someone can help!

[mumofstig]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I'm moving this over to.....erm  Grow Your Own, I think, as it's about allotments
What does your agreement say? some stipulate a percentage that must be for growing veg.
we can have a few flowers, but no bushes or shrubs, so it's just perennials an annuals and herbs of course

[TerryB]

Check the does and don'ts with whoever is in charge, not another plot holder because some will tell you what they think and not the actual rules.
On ours as long as its kept tied and used, you can grow what you like.
Some are like gardens with large areas of flowers and bushes, others are mostly veg.
We are not allowed any hens etc because some plots are set aside for these away from the surrounding houses.

 

[Dominic]

The law says fruit veg or flowers for personal use.
If you can chop it off and whack it in a vase, you can grow it.

To be fair, I wouldnt have thought anyone would complain, get stuff that attracts wasps and ladybirds and other such lovelies.

[HLS]

As others have said, check with the committee/check your rules to see what you're allowed.  I think it's fairly common round here for some people to grow a few flowers on their allotments but it's never a large part of their plot and it's all cut flower types - annuals and bulbs but no shrubs.

You could also investigate things that are edible and attractive, of course.  For example: I've got some mange tout that have yellow pods and purple flowers and I'm growing them in my front garden as if they were sweet peas, blueberries can be an attractive bush plant, there are edible flowers like nasturtiums* and marigolds, and wasn't there at least one garden in the Chelsea Flower Show (one this year and one last year, I think) that was all about mixing cottage garden flowers and vegetables?  My chives are looking pretty spectacular with the purple flowers against a background of golden marjoram at the moment, as well!

*Careful with nasturtiums - the people before me on the plot had some and three years later I still have to give them some pretty serious reining in in late summer otherwise I wouldn't be growing anything else!  You'd think that something with such big seeds wouldn't manage to hide them, but they have so many you just can't get them all.

[Kleftiwallah]

Stick in a paragraph break occasionally, bit wearing on the eyes a block of text like what that is!     Cheers,   Tony.

[mumofstig]

Stick in a paragraph break occasionally, bit wearing on the eyes a block of text like what that is!     Cheers,   Tony.

shouldn't that comment have a please in it somewhere Kleftiwallah   

[aqua]

I have just taken over an allotment where the previous holder grew shrubs along one side (next to the fence). No one seems to have minded.

She still holds a half plot.

The rule on out plots is 75|% under cultivation - no one said what you cultivate

[Christine]

The allotment police here mark you up on inspections for having a good mix of fruit, vegetables and flowers. I know I've had to learn the rules as I've been drafted onto the allotment police.

Mind there is an annual trophy for best kept allotment (and one for the most improved one for those under two years) here so we need something other than neat row upon row of vegetables to mark out one plot from another.

Our only comment is that dandelions and bindweed don't really count towards the flower mixture!

But remember that technically the idea of allotments is that you don't grow anything that will last longer than twelve months so that you can hand on a clear plot to the next person who may not want to grow what you leave. If someone takes over a plot and doesn't want rhubarb, strawberries or raspberries then you have reason to be concerned of course.

So be careful with the idea of shrubs. Most of them are not edible so are a bit of a waste of space in the scheme of food production. There are some fruit bushes which are quite attractive though.

[Wombat18]

As we speak I'm thinking of putting a couple of ornamental shrubs in down the shady end of the plot near the shed for wildlife purposes.  Probably a cotoneaster and some honeysuckle to keep the birdies fed over the winter and a buddleja (or however you spell 'em) for the butterflies, together with a few packs of bee and butterfly seeds.  I will definitely be sticking to dwarf varieties though!

It depends how strict your allotment police are.  Mine don't object to a small wildlife patch, especially since the area I've cleared is too dry and shady for veggies, but as others have said you need to check the rules before you start planting, especially if you are thinking of converting large areas of fertile plot to ornamental shrubs.

[peapod]

I really recommend you don't put a buddleia in your plot. They are great for butterflies (hence being called the butterfly bush) but they are total thugs and seed EVERYWHERE -even if you are careful they are a hard plant to tame.  Just take a look on brownfield sites and even train tracks to see how easily they seed and how quickly they grow.

I would go mad if someone put one near my plot,as Id be pulling up seedlings year after year, and there's enough weeds as it is!

There's lots of other plants that feed butterflies.

[mobilekat]

+1 on the Buddleia as a pain to control.
There was one in our garden when we moved in 11 years ago, and I removed it that year as it was past its best  and taking over almost 20% of the borders. I am still getting seedlings appear!
I have checked the neighbours gardens but cant see any there, so unless the birds are helping me, I am still finding relations of the original one!

Cotoneasters are great, as are the bush honeysuckles, and provide early bee food.

[Endymion]

Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose) is a lovely shrub. It's deciduous, has pretty white flowers in the spring, gets covered with glistening red berries in autumn and the leaves turn a glorious red. Blackbirds in particular absolutely love the berries ... and it's a 'native'. http://www.british-trees.com/treeguide/viburnums/nbnsys0000004328.htm

and image search

[miss k]

Thanks for all the advice, I think i'm going to get all the plants I crave but keep them in pots so that i there is a problem or we have to move all is not lost!!!

[mobilekat]

sounds like the perfect solution.
we have lots of potted plants in the garden or as i refer to them 'mobile colour'
so they often get moved about to any areas that are looking a little bald!

have fun!!