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Generally hesitant to recommend these sorts of deals since 'one of every colour' looks so much worse than eg. 3 of one colour and 5 of another.

But nonetheless this is a great deal on salvias - all the 'lips' but also nachtvlinder, which is my absolute favourite - has survived several winters with me, and flowers well even in part shade

https://hayloft.co.uk/ultimate-salvia-collection-g-k42208

I think I would be worried about the use of illegal fertilisers etc in that situation

This sort of thing

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30292153/#:~:text=A%20major%20concern%20has%20been,online%20or%20in%20hydroponic%20stores.

indestructible

https://www.crocus.co.uk/product/_/dewit-forged-iron-trowel/classid.2000037624/

The centrist dad wing of the Tory party - Rory Stewart, David Cameron, Jeremy Hunt etc are not necessarily less right wing than the nutters - Truss, Braverman, etc. The difference is that they are reality-based not living in an IEA/Trump/Farage type fantasy world.

The former being much less dangerous when in government, but also more likely to get into government in the first place by virtue of not seeming insane to the general public. And therefore more dangerous overall.

Erigeron karvinskianus (assuming decent amount of sun)

Beyond parody, a vajazzled monstrosity for the price of a house deposit

First actual plants added to the new plot last night- grushovka tomatoes (determinate)

Possibly already entirely consumed by slugs

Anyone have herb garden planning inspo? Thinking of doing something like this at the allotment, circular hang out area in the middle and then 4 curvy L shaped beds, a rose in each one plus mostly evergreen or perennial herbs and a handful of herb-adjacent perennials (monarda, agastache etc)

Thanks for kind comments all.

What I've done so far is the easy bit, not involving spades or slugs. No doubt plenty of back pain and slime trail disappointment still to come!

That being said I am still very excited. 5 years of waiting has made me extremely eager

Got my plot 10 days ago.

Happy with the progress so far...

Slashed weeds from head height to ground height with a sickle

Sourced some pallets, built a very rough-and-ready 2-bay compost bin and piled it full of the cleared stuff

Bartered for a giant bit of black plastic to cover a third of the plot and let the weeds die underneath

Pruned the hedge overhanging the plot, a bit - need to do much more still

Bought some timber and built 3 raised beds

Harvested some of the preexisting rhubarb and made a top notch crumble

All very satisfying. Obvs still a long way to go

How do I nearly retain the ends of the straps?

Normal approach is to pull them tight, put the ends in the car, and shut them in the car door. Not sure how that works with your roof though

I was meaning to be encouraging! They are gross and very dispiriting

I have a shady urban garden in the wet west of the country so it is slugageddon. There are plenty of plants they never ever touch. Roses, grasses, ferns, hydrangeas, salvias, euphorbias, thalictrum, the vast majority of evergreens, etc etc etc

There is enough variety that you can do an entire ornamental garden in plants that they won't ever touch

Bit of sun and everything's starting to emerge

I've had only one or two of about the 20 Nectaroscordum siculum bulbs that I planted up, flower this year.

I have some of these and find them reliably perennial, so don't give up hope yet. Albeit they often lean all over the place at funny angles rather than growing straight up, probably as they're in too much shade.

Good tip!

Interesting, I think I would use it as a space to store tools but also for light potting/sowing duties, and yeah, am considering how to include a window and shelf or maybe just cold frames outside. We are apparently limited to 6x4 feet, which probably rules out a full on potting shed, but not sure if that's enforced.

Got my plot officially confirmed.

Going to need a shed. Not wanting to spend lots

Is there a forum recommended cheap shed? Or is homemade / second hand the way to go

Amazing!

My foxgloves are out, also alliums and the very first rose

Both not too badly overgrown

Long thin one is better for access, water etc

Willow one is probably less shaded, especially if I can remove the pollarded tree on the right. They branches are quite slim so could be cut easily but the stump is bloody enormous

On both, the plot administrator person is quite unclear of the boundaries. Not sure if the shed is included in the willow one, for example. I guess you just have to get hold of your plot neighbours and negotiate what they think is theirs

Just back from my plot visit

Rather annoyingly we saw one perfect plot and one pretty good plot, both offered and taken by the other two people visiting, who were higher up the list than me

I now have a choice of a very long skinny plot, shaded all morning by a big hedge, or a another plot fairly shaded by a big willow. Both quite cute in their own way I guess

There's one like this is Bristol which I always think would be awesome to live in

Presumably a rare example of 'flying freehold'

Good tips, thanks

Apparently half plots only for newbies, so won't need to make a decision on that

Having been waiting for an allotment for about 5 years, I've just had an email inviting me for a plot viewing on Sunday. I am reasonably competent at gardening but I don't do much fruit and veg, and have never had an allotment.

Sounds like there's multiple plots and multiple prospective allotmenteers. If I get a choice, what should I be looking out for? Obvious things clearly aspect and shade, slope, abundance of horrendous weeds, proximity to any resources like water, compost heap etc.

I had one and it survived the slugs better than others

But it still didn't survive

Given up on hostas now