The Knitted Allotment

Photo by Simon Sandys

Knit One, Plant One

This project, like the real allotment, just grew and grew, but unlike the real one, which is always extremely well disciplined, it got a bit out of hand. 

    It all started at the allotment Open Day in 2009 when the ‘Knit a Veg’ stall proved a great success, attracting knitters young and old to try their hand at creating a variety of produce, encouraged by allotment volunteer Helen Hudson, who had previously made a knitted veg window display for Terre à Terre restaurant.  Several BHOGG members were keen to form a knitting group to extend their skills, eat cake and have a laugh – rather like Sunday work afternoons on the allotment in fact.  A core of four started to meet about once a month and by the end of the year found they had let themselves in for the ambitious scheme of knitting the whole allotment on a large scale.  The idea was not only to make something entertaining and good to look at, but something that would demonstrate the variety, productivity and beauty that’s possible on a well thought out allotment. In keeping with the spirit of organic gardening, most of the materials that were used were left overs, donated or found in charity shops. 

    Project leader and BHOGG allotment volunteer Helen Hudson describes the project:

“The design conforms to the actual layout of the beds, paths, pond, gravel and recreation areas.  We have allowed some artistic licence – raspberries aren’t really as big as apples and there isn’t a miracle micro-climate on the Weald site that allows peas and pumpkins to crop at the same time, or strawberries to fruit when the primroses are out – but we’ve included as many of the types of veg, fruit, herbs, flowers and trees that are grown there as we could knit in the space. The more permanent plantings are in the positions they really occupy:  fruit trees, soft fruit, asparagus, comfrey, the lavender hedge. Other areas have perennial herbs like thyme, sage, rosemary and feverfew, while the long border below the pond has a variety of useful small trees and shrubs of which buddleia is shown. In keeping with good organic practice the contents of the raised beds are rotated each season, so visitors shouldn’t expect to find crops where they appear here. We also thought it important to show how flowering plants are used as companion plants and to attract insects for pollinating and pest control, and judging by the size of the knitted bees, butterflies and ladybirds, and the health of the crops, it’s worked.

    We had a lot of fun making it and I learned more about the plants I’ve helped to grow by working out how to knit them, as you do from drawing them. We found ourselves asking questions like ‘How many petals does a cosmos flower have?’ ‘Exactly what colour is a Turk’s Turban or a courgette flower?’ and ‘What’s the structure of a Brussels sprout plant?  The knitting group is already thinking about another project.”

    The group would like as many people to see it as possible and at 6ft by 4ft it suits a public space such as a gallery or community centre. The group would eventually like to find a permanent, local home for it.  It is designed to be easily removed from a supporting frame, which is in sections to make transportation on a bike possible.