In love with gardening

The British have always been in love with their gardens. What other country would have a long-running weekly radio programme called Gardeners' Question Time? People with no garden of their own can always take on an allotment - a small vegetable and flower garden that they can rent from a local council.

During the Second World War, the British produced three million tons of fruit and vegetables a year from allotments alone. In the past 20 years, these miniature gardens began to go out of fashion. It was easier to get your potatoes already cut into the shape of chips, or buy your peas frozen, than to spend hours out in the cold digging and planting. Recently, however, as people have realized the benefits of exercise and the satisfaction of growing their own food, allotments have come back into fashion in a big way.

Helen Curran from the north of England had often walked past her local allotments. "One day I wandered in, just to see what was behind the gates, and I found these allotments. I inquired if I could get one, because there were a few derelict. We were lucky enough to get one, because there`s a waiting list now," she told the BBC.

Waiting lists are, in fact, now the norm for allotment seekers across Britain. Stan Pennington, who has been growing flowers and vegetables near Helen Curran's plot for more than 46 years, says it's worth waiting. "I never look at the work side as hard work, because I enjoy doing it," he says.

Spotlight, Juli 2006, Seite 9