Visit The Roehampton Allotments
Perhaps you will get the gardening bug
On June 8th from 10am to 4pm members of the public can access the allotments as part of the 'Open Garden Squares Weekend' (details including charges are on the Open Garden Squares Weekend website www.opensquares.org/).
Walk around the plots with a guide or on your own and chat to gardeners tending their plots. If you live in Wandsworth, why not put your name on the waiting list? Children might be particularly interested in the chickens and beehives.
Join the Roehampton Garden Society (RGS) for a small fee, buy horticultural goods and receive advice on 'grow your own' matters.
The RGS manages two allotment sites behind the houses of Dover House Road. There were originally three allotment sites established by the London County Council in the 1920s, when it built the Roehampton Estate.
In the 1970s local people fought a bid by the Greater London Council to build houses on the allotments, saving the two sites here today. The third site was sadly lost to development.
Today there are 200 allotment plots at 162 Dover House Road and 80 plots at 18 The Pleasance. Members of the local community, from a diverse range of backgrounds, work side-by-side to maintain their individual plots.
In June there will be mature crops of asparagus, peas and beans, strawberries and other berries and flowers, especially roses. Preparations will be underway for the Summer Show on Saturday 15 June in St Margaret's Church Hall, Putney Park Lane. The show has been held annually by the RGS since at least 1893, with interruptions only for the two World Wars.
Photo: Justina Burnett
Entrance: 162 Dover House Road & by 18 The Pleasance (off Dover House Road)
Nearest postcode: SW15 5AR
Bus: 430
Station: Barnes or Putney (then take the 430 bus)
Toilets: Disabled toilet on site.
Access: Uneven surfaces throughout. Accessible toilet at both sites.
Dogs: Working assistance dogs only
Conditions: Please keep to main paths. Do not enter individual plots unless invited.
May 30, 2013