Harborne Hill Allotments

Based just outside the High Street before you get into Edgbaston proper, this is a lovely but popular site. I was lucky in that I didn’t have to wait too long before a plot became free but this was before gardening became really popular and when allotmenting wasn’t really seen as a viable hobby for the middle classes — we’re talking a good ten or so years ago. I was also given a rather unlovely spot which took months of hard toil and digging before it resembled anything half decent (and even then, only just and that’s only because my Mom took pity on me and helped out). Getting an allotment then is not a decision you should take lightly — the other people who rent spaces here are absolutely brilliant — friendly, kind, cheerful, always happy to share a bumper crop of spuds, but they take it seriously — since I’ve been there I have seen countless people turn up in Cath Kidston inspired wellies and a load of good intentions only to give up when they realise what it requires — e.g. entire weekends given over to weeding. That’s not to put people off entirely — if you can devote the time to it, it’s a really worthwhile thing — I have very happy memories of sipping a cup of tea whilst surveying ‘my land’ and some of the produce we grew was brilliant — courgettes the size of a small child’s head, radishes that you could eat straight from the ground and more fruit than we knew what to do with. At Harborne Hill you can also hire a tool shed, there’s a small shop on site where you can purchase potatoes, onions, manure and there’s also a loo and loads of water taps. It’s an idyllic place and I think of it fondly.