Saturday 8 September 2018

Heritage Open Days 2018 Hawkenbury Allotments

Today I have fallen in love- with an allotment.


Adjacent to Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells is an oasis of humming activity.



Humming, because it is full of bees and insects visiting over 300 plots hidden behind a hedge and various locked gates. Plots are marked with various signs, honeysuckle rambling around these outside homesteads.



Today and next Saturday the 15th September you can visit this green and vibrant haven and admire marrows, pumpkins, apples and sunflowers whose heads are turning towards the ground heavy with their seeds.



You will be shown around by knowledgeable Dr. Janet Sturgis.



Beds of  blackberries, cabbages, beetroots in ordered rows are next to vibrant dahlias the size of dinner plates- yes, really that size and damson trees and cooking apples drop their excess fruits onto the grass below to become compost.





Beautiful, each plot individual, unusual forms of recycling and bordering. Raised beds and those just taken over and showing signs of new ownership are fitting tributes to those who sat under an oak tree in 1930 and dreamed of a community space where those who had no gardens could come and grow produce and wear ties on Sundays. Yes, there were and are regulations. No ties need in the 21st century, but maybe someone could start that trend again.



Now it is a place to come and be, to grow plants, vegetables and flowers, to sit in the sun and watch the sky, to talk to your neighbours who share your passions.



We left, talking to those who came to pick their gladiolas, their apples and rhubarb for the Sunday crumble and I took a backward glance and thought how heavenly to have a wheelbarrow and walk through this special place,



 affectionately called the Haha on the edge of this busy town.




There is a waiting list for plots but you can visit this Heritage Open Days.

For details of when you can visit this and other properties in the area please follow this link: Tunbridge Wells Heritage 2018

No comments:

Post a Comment