With a heavy heart we made the decision to let our allotment plot go when E was two years old. As we packed up the last few bits from our shed our allotment neighbour Dave kindly said ”don’t feel bad about it, when Euan is older and the time is right you can return to it”. He added that if we ever wanted to do some growing with E we could always have a little patch on his plot if we weren’t ready to tackle a full plot again. This summer we took him up on his offer and it’s been fabulous returning to the plot.
Dave has been amazing. He cleared a patch of ground and marked it ”Euan’s garden”. He let us rummage through his seed packets and he keeps an eye on it when we’re not able to get down (which has only been once a week while E was at school and even less often than that in the holidays). We’ve found allotment time and baby L are not really compatible unless there’s another adult on hand to hold back our little plant grabber but we’ve had some lucky nap time walks on the weekends Gs been working.
It’s been lovely to have one to one time with E sharing my awe of how nature turns a tiny seed into a giant plant that provides us with food (think runner bean to a child and you have something of the concept of what it means to create a giant).
It’s amazing how kids are suddenly more open to trying vegetables they’ve previously refused if they’ve had a hand in growing them. I love eating beans fresh from the plant and although E declared “I am not keen on those” to both our runner beans and Henri’s broad beans I loved his willingness and “errrr, no” face.
If you asked E what his favourite part of going to the allotment is, without hesitation he’d say “seeing Dave and going in his shed”. Such a beautiful friendship forming.
I’m looking forward to next summer already when I shall have two little helpers.
So sweet! Lucky boy and lucky Dave!
How sweet of Dave, and how lovely the friendship that is forming. I would love to do something like this with my four. But think I need so wait till the youngest is a little older.
Cherie || My Mama Musings
It’s such a lovely thing to do gardening with kiddos but hard work too. Our guardian angel Dave makes it easy for us, without him I’d have to hold off for a few more years too. It will be well worth the wait when you do get to it :o)
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[…] We went to the Isle of Wight, camped on Exmoor National Park and visited family in Germany. Euan and I grew veg at the allotment. We had a half term adventure to the Science Museum with cousin Kian. Euan won best costume for his […]
[…] to the allotment this year thanks to our friend Dave giving us a small patch of ground on his plot, just like he did last year when 5 year old Euan tried allotment growing for the first time. I was a bit dubious about how productive it would today with a wandering toddler in tow so set […]
[…] life as a new Mum. Fast forward 4 years and I’m so happy to be back on the plot growing on a small patch of soil on our allotment guardian Dave’s plot. What really gladdens my heart is to be gardening with my boys. I may not be as productive as I […]
[…] We went to the Isle of Wight, camped on Exmoor National Park and visited family in Germany. Euan and I grew veg at the allotment. We had a half term adventure to the Science Museum with cousin Kian. Euan won best costume for his […]