Joy of Allotments : An Illustrated Diary of Plot 19 Hardback

"What makes the allotment my place? It's a mix of meditation, therapy and exercise, a place for me and my thoughts.

That's what I've tried to capture in this book - what it feels like to tend an allotment.

Frankly, I view growing vegetables as a bit of a bonus."A perfect gift for any season, illustrated in full colour throughout, The Joy of Allotments is a wittily realistic and moving account of the good life, providing hours of vicarious pleasure for armchair gardeners and shared groans of recognition for fellow allotment-holders. Caroline Deput took on an allotment nearly fifteen years ago, clearing the weeds and years of buried rubbish, digging a wildlife pond and building a greenhouse to make Plot 19 the perfect place to grow vegetables (and somewhere to escape to).

Yet, there is always something to do. Follow the year on Plot 19 through Caroline's illustrated diary of colour illustrations and share her eternal optimism (often misplaced) as she keeps her allotment sufficiently weeded, watered and hoed to grow vegetables with the alluring names of Lady Balfour, Bull's Blood and Hurst Green Shaft.

From spring as she plants with high hopes to summers spent harvesting her first crop then the autumn chores of sowing for the early spring harvest. On Caroline's allotment time is adjusted to the different rhythms of the seasons and absorption in the tasks that need to be done.

It is the perfect place to go to escape the worries of daily life.

Discover the delights and frustrations of allotment life.