“I have been reaping the rewards and enjoying the many health benefits of my allotment for the past decade and thought it might be good to share my enthusiasm with our Henbury community.
Gardening- the Green Gymn - is identified as one of the Health Education Councils recommended form of exercise for the over 50’s age group. But why wait? My children when they were younger spent many a happy hour playing hide and seek, helping pick the fruit and veg and ‘watering’ all the plants with the benefit of increasingly large water pistols while chasing around the outside paths of the plots - A great game when little. When older they earned pocket money barrowing tons of manure up the slope and watched the soil gradually transform from clay to a workable loam.
At the other end of the age scale I should like to quote Mr Powell one of Willow Tree Surgeries 88 year old patients. He had an allotment at the age of 12 years old and still has the first spade he used. He feels he is having a wonderful life and still enjoys very good health. His job as a librarian was sedentary and he feels that working outside growing fruit and veg provided a good balance to this. He felt it was a place he could lose himself and was good therapy. He still keeps his garden up and is currently harvesting runner beans in abundance ( a pound a pound in shops right now) helping eke out his pension. He is a wonderful example for all of us.
There is nothing quite as rewarding as watching seeds grow and transform without chemicals or poisons into something that not only tastes absolutely delicious but is also packed full of good nutrition. Not to mention cheap!! Soft fruit is extremely forgiving of neglect – rewarding us year after year with strawberries, raspberries redcurrants, black currants, gooseberries and tayberries – all packed full of antioxidants and vitamins to help keep our bodies in tip top condition. I am fortunate enough to have a plot on a south facing slope – allowing me to grow Grapevines. Haven’t yet got round to turning them into a glass of red wine – but one day!!
Another spin off from having an allotment was learning to cook simply, using fresh seasonal ingredients. Newly dug up new potatoes are a meal in themselves with some freshly picked salad and olive oil dressing.
The Allotment is a place where people can indulge in two of life's passions - gardening and talking. Sharing expertise with fellow gardeners and communing with Nature. The physical and mental health benefits of gardening are now well documented.
For me the allotment is a place to escape from life’s pressures. My mobile phone has no reception there – a real blessing. Sometimes I just sit and watch the wildlife around me – easy meditation and relaxation combined. Better still is the joy of doing some hard physical exercise weeding, digging, pruning and planting and then harvesting and cooking the produce.” Dr Liz Larkin, Willow Tree Surgery.
There are two allotment areas in Henbury.
The first is at Monsdale Drive. The site rep there is Pauline and she is happy to be contacted on 0117 9238510. There is a small waiting list at present but sometimes half plots are allocated within a matter of weeks if you are lucky. Average waiting times are about 6 months to 2 years – so get in early if keen!!
The second area is tucked away at Gifford Road and the site rep is Ian who can be contacted on 0117 9504436.
Gardening- the Green Gymn - is identified as one of the Health Education Councils recommended form of exercise for the over 50’s age group. But why wait? My children when they were younger spent many a happy hour playing hide and seek, helping pick the fruit and veg and ‘watering’ all the plants with the benefit of increasingly large water pistols while chasing around the outside paths of the plots - A great game when little. When older they earned pocket money barrowing tons of manure up the slope and watched the soil gradually transform from clay to a workable loam.
At the other end of the age scale I should like to quote Mr Powell one of Willow Tree Surgeries 88 year old patients. He had an allotment at the age of 12 years old and still has the first spade he used. He feels he is having a wonderful life and still enjoys very good health. His job as a librarian was sedentary and he feels that working outside growing fruit and veg provided a good balance to this. He felt it was a place he could lose himself and was good therapy. He still keeps his garden up and is currently harvesting runner beans in abundance ( a pound a pound in shops right now) helping eke out his pension. He is a wonderful example for all of us.
There is nothing quite as rewarding as watching seeds grow and transform without chemicals or poisons into something that not only tastes absolutely delicious but is also packed full of good nutrition. Not to mention cheap!! Soft fruit is extremely forgiving of neglect – rewarding us year after year with strawberries, raspberries redcurrants, black currants, gooseberries and tayberries – all packed full of antioxidants and vitamins to help keep our bodies in tip top condition. I am fortunate enough to have a plot on a south facing slope – allowing me to grow Grapevines. Haven’t yet got round to turning them into a glass of red wine – but one day!!
Another spin off from having an allotment was learning to cook simply, using fresh seasonal ingredients. Newly dug up new potatoes are a meal in themselves with some freshly picked salad and olive oil dressing.
The Allotment is a place where people can indulge in two of life's passions - gardening and talking. Sharing expertise with fellow gardeners and communing with Nature. The physical and mental health benefits of gardening are now well documented.
For me the allotment is a place to escape from life’s pressures. My mobile phone has no reception there – a real blessing. Sometimes I just sit and watch the wildlife around me – easy meditation and relaxation combined. Better still is the joy of doing some hard physical exercise weeding, digging, pruning and planting and then harvesting and cooking the produce.” Dr Liz Larkin, Willow Tree Surgery.
There are two allotment areas in Henbury.
The first is at Monsdale Drive. The site rep there is Pauline and she is happy to be contacted on 0117 9238510. There is a small waiting list at present but sometimes half plots are allocated within a matter of weeks if you are lucky. Average waiting times are about 6 months to 2 years – so get in early if keen!!
The second area is tucked away at Gifford Road and the site rep is Ian who can be contacted on 0117 9504436.
No comments:
Post a Comment