The Allotment Garden

(The pictures have been taken with my cell phone, so the quality is not the best, but will give you an image of my garden.)

I live in an apartment building, yet I have a garden. I have a garden 10 minutes away, I go there on my bike. The type of garden is what we in Danish would call "kolonihaven" the allotment garden. The garden "society" that I have my garden in consists of about 55 gardens, all more or less the same size. My is the smallest, and is therefore called the half garden, its 350 m2, about 400 yards2. The others are 450 m2. So it is a bit farfetched that it's only half the size.

Originally these garden where created as poverty gardens, where poor people where allowed to grow some potatoes and vegetables. Later by royal decreed by King Frederik V1 the idea was copied so that workers could rent a garden. The king saw it as a way to prevent the workers from drinking and prevent poverty. It was stated the work with a garden could lead to sobriety by diminishing the visits to the pub and better the health by making the working class enjoy vegetables on more regular basis.

Later the garden was also seen a recreational and relaxing spaces, where the workers would go and stay during the weekends. They build small cottages, and created a way of life in the allotment garden that exits to this day.

In reason time it's become the new "thing" to have an allotment garden. Where it used to be the working class, more and more academics are buying an allotment. This way they can enjoy the relaxed and therapeutic life in a garden.