Take a peek behind one of Ireland's best-loved allotment sites as Ards Allotments, on private farmland on the edge of Strangford Lough in Co. Down, opens its doors to visitors this week for National Allotments Week.
It's a great chance to pick up tips from plot holders and get an insight into what it's like to own your own allotment. Who knows, perhaps you'll put your name down in your area for your own ten rods of vegetable-growing heaven.
There are allotments all over Ireland, from the huge Eden Allotment Gardens in Co. Antrim – the largest site in Northern Ireland with 189 plots – to the Little Green Allotments in Lisburn, one of Ireland's many privately-owned allotment sites.
The National Trust offers sites in spectacular settings: the community garden at Minnowburn, just south of Belfast, has views across the Lagan Valley Regional Park, while at Springhill, in Moneymore, the community allotments are in a walled garden.
All these sites and more can be found by contacting your local council or the National Trust. Make this the year you get your own plot and start growing your own in earnest – once you're up and running, you won't look back.
