Ealing Allotment Partnership: Grow The Universe

After a successful collaboration last year with Ascott Allotments, winning ‘Best Community Allotment 2021’ at RHS Hampton Court, we jumped at the opportunity to get involved again this year.

The team decided to go bigger this year, by involving reps from allotments across Ealing, to share ideas and work together to produce a garden truly representative of the diversity of people and ways of growing found in this West London borough. Ealing Allotment Partnership is a community-led group, working with Ealing Council, on behalf of all allotment tenants in the borough. EAP represents 45 allotment sites and aims to develop community involvement, offer mutual support, raise funds and generally improve all sites within the borough.

The design for 2022 is entitled ‘Grow the Universe’ and incorporates elements which are important to us at this time and are symbolised by the Mandala – a geometric configuration of symbols used in various spiritual traditions as a focus for meditation, a beautiful art form and a living tradition used in everyday life and at important celebrations.

While looking out to the wider universe, the show garden is very much rooted in the allotments of Ealing with most of the plants having been grown by allotmenteers across the borough and materials borrowed and sourced locally. Upholding the values of ‘grow locally’ and ‘involve the community’, all the plants and materials will be re-used after the show in Ealing allotment sites - a truly sustainable garden.

We are very much looking forward to the finished product and wish our allotment friends good weather and good luck for the growing season.