What a good plot

A FEW years ago allotments appeared to be losing their appeal amid fears that the land they occupied would be reclaimed and put to other uses.

Luckily, this decline has reversed and allotments are back in vogue, with many younger people taking plots over at the start of their gardening life.

Last week, I was invited to have a look around Scarcroft Allotments, a large area of land just off Scarcroft Road on the south side York, which is home to 124 plots of various sizes.

Sara Robin, longtime plot holder and committee member, showed me around and although it was a cold February day there was plenty to see.

Winter vegetables such as leeks and cabbages were very much in evidence with new shoots of garlic poking several centimetres high through the soil.

Sara also had a good crop of poached egg plant, an annual that carries an open yellow and white flower which is ideal for attracting lacewings.

Mature trees, hedges and brambles line the paths and give an impression of being out in the country rather than the centre of a city.

The birds were singing and darting in and out of shrubs and trees. We saw a large frog, lazily swimming at the bottom of a pond. This was a first sighting and a sign that soon the ponds in the area will be overflowing with frog spawn.

The wildlife is rich at the allotments and last year the committee asked two members, Morwenna and Simon Christian, to carry out a wildlife survey of the area.

Plot holders were sent a form on which they were asked to record sightings of wildlife over the summer. The audit concentrated on readily identifiable groups - birds, butterflies, dragonflies, amphibians, mammals and some plants, with the idea that more groups such as bees and moths could be added at a later date.

An astonishing amount of wildlife was spotted, including more than 30 species of birds, 18 species of which were regular users of the site.

Some of the UK's most threatened species of bird, song thrush, linnet and bullfinch were seen, as were house sparrows and starlings.

A pair of bullfinches were present on the allotments over the summer and a female was spotted gathering nesting material for a nest, believed to have been in an area of thick hedges.

Three pairs of song thrush, together with the juveniles of two pairs, were seen and were thought to have held at least part of their territories over the area.

Fifteen species of butterfly were spotted, with the long hot summer we had last year being perfect for seeing a good range of these insects.

Common species such as small tortoiseshell (the first to be seen), commas, and - the bane of brassica growers - small and large whites were in evidence, as were other less common ones usually seen in the south of the country.

Peacock, brimstone, orange tip and holly blue are all expanding northwards. We have had holly blues in our garden over the past few years, our large holly tree providing a good source of food for the caterpillars that feed on its leaves, flowers and buds.

The frog we saw in Sara's pond is just one of many that have colonised the area. There are at least ten small ponds created by allotment holders and the frogs easily find them and breed. Toads also live on the site but aren't thought to breed there because they need large, deep ponds or lakes.

The dense hedges and diversity of plants in the area support the wildlife found there and shows the important part allotments can play in their survival.

Hawthorn gives an early nectar source in May and the berries provide food for thrushes and blackbirds in autumn and winter, while thick hawthorn hedges offer good cover and nesting sites for many bird species.

The areas of ivy on some of the boundary walls also act as cover for birds, as well as many insects on which the birds feed. The late flowers are an important nectar source for butterflies and other insects and the winter berries a winter food for birds. Other trees and shrubs at the allotments include ash, elder, hazel, elm, apple, pear, sycamore and lilac.

Scarcroft allotments are a thriving community with all the plots taken and 20 people on the waiting list.

There is a neighbourhood watch scheme in operation at the site, as well as a tool marking scheme and Scarcroft and District Allotments and Amateur Gardeners Association provides a regular newsletter. It also runs a hut from which members can buy fertilisers, composts and other sundries.

Events such as the hedge day last November, when hedges were trimmed and the site tidied for winter, take place occasionally. Two of the allotments are used as wildlife areas and have little done to them, allowing the creatures to live undisturbed.

Updated: 08:29 Saturday, February 28, 2004