Gardening: Allotment tales

Conjure up a picture of an allotment site, and it will almost certainly involve sheds. Now I am lucky to live quite close to my plot, so a shed is not the essential it is for those from further afield. I inherited a dilapidated one from a predecessor. Mentioning to my neighbour that I might demolish it, he lost no time tackling it for me, salvaging some useful bits with which to repair his own.

Now for many plotholders, their shed is more than somewhere to store the garden tools. It's a changing room for those who come straight from work. It's somewhere to store jam, homebrew, and some children's toys. With a solar panel for power, it can be a garden office. It's the place to have a rest and enjoy some peace.

Characteristics of an ideal shed include security from thieves and vandals, an unbreakable window, the ability to be weather and vermin-proof, and plenty of room for tools.

The late Eddie from our site carpeted his hut with something more befitting a grand hotel. With some left over, he ran it up the walls for added insulation. There was a shelf with a crystal decanter and glasses. As Eddie's health failed, he spent more time enjoying the creature comforts in his hut while his friends kept up with his gardening.

However, the planners have turned down some applications for new sites, because they think the overall appearance will be detrimental to an area. And I have to agree with them that huts with tatty roofing felt and uncherished rotting wood do not add to visual amenity. But sheds need not be eyesores. I recently spotted a top-of-the-range Gothic shed which has a high-pitched slate roof allowing loft storage together with many aesthetically pleasing features which should enchant planners.

The alternative considered by some sites is just having a communal hut with individual lockers. The plotholders may never know what they are missing, but I feel that some part of the pleasure of having an allotment will have gone. So for those people whose huts took a battering last winter, please give them a bit of TLC. By titivating it you will be doing more than just prolonging its usefulness, you will be proving that an allotment can be a local asset as well as being productive.

www.archiehunter.co.uk/html/gothic_ sheds.html

• This article was first published in The Scotsman on 22 May.