Allotment music

On the 12 September 1862, the Nottinghamshire Guardian reported that an Amateur Horticultural and Flower fete by “a society, whose object is the promotion and encouragement of Horticulture and Floriculture, has been organised, during the past few months, amongst the amateur gardeners of the Hunger Hills and its immediate neighbourhood.” The fete was held in…

Doctor of Damsons

You may remember that the Rev. (and subsequently Dean) Samuel Reynolds Hole was synonymous with the St Ann’s Rose Show at St Ann’s Allotments. From attending his first show in the 1850’s he came to know the rose growing secrets perfected by the local working men in their glasshouses on the Hungerhill Gardens. He became…

The three P’s

For those of you who’ve experienced a tour of St Ann’s Allotments, you may recall that the principles of Victorian gardens, such as our allotments, were ‘Privacy, Pleasure and Peace’. The three P’s. The plots were used for growing flowers, relaxing, entertaining, and enjoying afternoon tea on the lawn. Those Victorian principles are still enjoyed…

Health

Some years ago, when visiting family in Australia, my grandson bought me a plaque to hang on the door of my shed. It says, “GRANDAD’S SHED – BIKES, TOYS AND TREASURES MENDED WHILE YOU WAIT – PAYMENT IN CUDDLES AND SMILES”. The pleasure that gives me is comparable with the pleasure that I get from…

Ford’s Avenue

I’ve come across a link between the Hungerhill Gardens and halibut. More precisely, Ford’s Avenue and halibut. When I was at school, my science teacher told me not to sit looking like “a cod faced haddock”, but my first experience of halibut, as opposed to cod and chips from Elsie’s at the bottom of Carlton…