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| Candlestick Press April 2026 Thanks to the publisher for the copy of this pamphlet |
Having an allotment isn’t the same as having a vegetable patch in the garden. There’s something about the sense of shared endeavour – the fair exchange of cups of tea and know-how – that means an allotment is not just a place but also a state of mind.
The selection features poems that revel in the good-natured competition that inevitably arises: who has grown the biggest onion and whose weeds are most to be frowned upon. There are also slugs and worms, aching backs and roughened hands – all seasoned by the heady tang of manure.
“She places each first early
on its smelly bed. Delicate as eggs they sit
until he spades the soil over. Buried treasure.”
from ‘Allotment’ by Vivienne Tregenza
Selected and introduced by Di Slaney
Cover illustration by Diana Croft
Poems by Marie-Louise Eyres, Marian Griffin, Ramona Herdman, Beag Horn, Vanessa Lampert, John Lancaster, Vivienne Tregenza, Zoe Walkington, Peter Wallis and Rob Walton.
📖 My Review..
Whilst on the M62 motorway yesterday I passed a well established group of allotments which have been in this spot, by the side of the carriageway, for several years and seem to have expanded over time. There is no doubt that the allotments flourish, all individual in size and shape, and all in various stages of growth, with quirky bits of make-do-and-mend bits of kit which keep away the birds. I think our fascination for growing stuff, harking back to the days when we, perhaps, had a little strip of land to call our own, on which to grow vegetables for the table, is what makes owning an allotment such a pleasurable pastime.
Summed up perfectly in :
By Definition by John Lancaster
“ Rented plots of usually poor quality soil that takes backbreaking years to tame into producing half-decent crops of vegetables and fruit. Must have decrepit sheds and unsightly plastic coverings to control weeds and acres of netting to stop birds, woolly bear caterpillars and cabbage white butterflies enjoying blackcurrants and brassicas..”
The competition between gardeners, the quest to grow the biggest vegetables and the fierce challenges between growers is alluded to in this joyous poem:
A huge onion to you is someone else’s bang-average-to-small-onion by Zoe Walkington
“Not only was her onion of exceptional size,
the amuse-bouche she had made with it
had blown the vicar away. You didn’t have the heart
to say Give it a rest Val, it’s just an onion”
Beautifully presented, with colourful garden inspired end papers, Ten Poems about Allotments is the perfect gift instead of a card for any allotment-loving gardener, be they the proud owner of a patch of land or currently on a long waiting list to get one.
About the Publisher
Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Mountains, Clouds, Walking, Birds, Wine and Happiness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.
