What's happening in Allotment-land?

This week, Ron's sweet peas are so impressive that the whole of the allotment office is scented by the single vase he's placed on the other side of the room at least ten feet away. Watch out for Ron's sweet pea tips a bit later in the year - he's won prize after prize for them so what he knows is well worth finding out.

Louise has been harvesting broad beans and making flower arrangements. She got her allotment three years ago during a fallow period in her artistic life but now new ideas are coming to her and she's keen to discuss how plants and the act of growing them influences her artistic processes. I'm green with envy at her runner bean markers - small squares of glass set on prongs that fit into the top of garden canes. 'Oh yes, I made those' she says airily and now I'm keen to find out exactly how Louise has developed her plant/glass art - but she has to run off and take the broad beans to her mum so we agree to talk later.

Andrew takes me up to his plot to look at his tobacco plants. Andrew shares his allotment with Dick and between them they've created one of the tightest-packed plots I've ever seen, but it's not a neat place, like a vegetable factory, instead they've got bee plants, bird plants, the smallest wildlife meadow in the world quite probably, a pond with newts, and some rare and wonderful fruit and veggies. I'm impressed by their melons growing under horticultural mesh, and that tobacco looks pretty good too - watch out for Andrew's future adventures in tobacco curing!

The big thing this week is plant collection. In a few days it will be time for the St Catherin's Hospice plant sale and Shirley and Jan are filling their cars with plants donated by allotment holders. I've got my eye on a very fine striped geranium and a rather nice lupin, so it will be interesting to see if I manage to bag them on the day. It's Andy's allotment they are currently denuding of plants, and Andy's pet seagull watches it all with a beady eye.