We meet three of the garden innovators whose fresh approach to growing is helping to change the horticultural landscape
WORDS MOLLY BLAIR
#1 The full-service allotments
Roots Allotments is a new allotment scheme in Bath offering fully serviced, no-dig, veg-growing spaces. Soon to be expanding into other UK cities, it’s tearing up the rule book of traditional allotments
Ed Morrison started growing vegetables when he lived with his grandmother in Devon during the first Covid lockdown of 2020. “It was super-fulfilling,” he says, “to be in touch with nature, to be outside, to get your hands in the soil when the world was so crazy.” When he moved back to London after lockdown, this was a feeling he couldn’t shake off.
Meeting up with old friends, Will Gay and Christian Samuel, for a game of squash or a couple of pints, he couldn’t stop talking about growing. “I’ve just been obsessed with it since I started.” Will agreed that growing things in his tiny back garden in south London had also boosted his wellbeing during the pandemic, and the three friends decided to get an allotment together.
On discovering that the local council waiting list for an allotment in their area was 28 years long, they started to dig a little deeper. They realised that the story was the same across the UK. More than 150,000 people were on a waiting list for an allotment and over half of councils had their waiting lists closed to new applicants.
With Will’s agricultural background, Christian’s knack for business and Ed’s obsession with growing and no-dig gardening, they set about finding a solution to this problem. The project moved quickly – within a few months, Ed and Will had moved to Bath and founded their first allotment site on a disused piece of land on Will’s family farm.
“This is much more than just a normal allotment,” says Will. They wanted to bring something new to the market. Roots is committed to creating modern allotments, that allow people with hectic lives to access the benefits of growing and spending time in nature. Plots range from the 12-square-metre Micro Patch (£9.99 a month) to the 108-square-metre Group Patch (£49.99 a month). They’ve had some push-back on their model, with critics saying their prices are too high in comparison with council allotments, but they’re quick to respond that their sites are run along different lines.
“You’re quite beholden to a council allotment,” says Will. “You can’t go on holiday without being worried about it.” But when you get a plot with Roots, you’re provided with a ready-to-plant bed, seeds, an
