A New Start... Our First Allotment

We've both been passionate gardeners for many years, but there never seemed to be enough space to match our ambitions. In March 2017 we rented our first allotment, choosing a nearby site owned by a local farmer: Ards Allotments. It is nestled between Scrabo Tower, a fairy tale tower built in 1857, and the stunning Strangford Lough, a designated "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". The land is reclaimed marsh, rich, worm-filled and silty, and as we strolled through the clover listening to the sweet call of the larks overhead we knew we had found our perfect little patch of earth.

This video shows what we achieved in six short months. As our plot develops, we hope to share our ideas and inspirations, the tricks and helpful hints that worked for us, and to encourage everyone to get their hands dirty. Growing something in the earth is the most therapeutic, rewarding, life-enhancing experience you can ever have. A garden is both timeless and impermanent. It is supposed to ebb and flow, to germinate and live and die and be renewed and replaced over time. It teaches us to see change as beautiful rather than as failure, and to savour the moment as well as embracing the future with joyful anticipation.