On a recent trip to Stockholm, as well as getting to merrily sing along at the newly created Abba Museum (great fun by the way), my fantastic host, Viveka, took me to see some amazing allotments.
We visited two sites, Arstalunden (a thicket or small wood) and Eriksbergs (Erik’s mountain) along a hillside, both of which overlooked the water,
giving a rather heavenly view.
Not only was the planting glorious,
but you just couldn’t help being wowed by the individual abodes-in-miniature, snugly situated on each plot.
I mean some plots had both a cabin and a shed,
but they all looked like the perfect spot to relax (as well as great space for gardening experimentation).
At some point we hit an old railway track (bringing to mind The Station Agent) where Tradgard (the major Swedish Gardening magazine) had sponsored a veg patch entirely made up of moving crates. Great to see.
Similarly to the UK, there are waiting lists for such fantastic plots, but blimey, how wonderful should your name come up!
Out of my shed 
Magical. I would spend every spare moment in one and what bliss to wake up surrounded by flowers and produce.
Hi Sue, I’m sure it would indeed be blissful to overnight in such a verdant spot. You’d never want to go home!
Amazing! Wish my allotment looked liked that. I’d live there!
Hi Sarah, my Islington allotment backs onto a sub-electric station and blocks of high rise flats. If I had such a plot, I’d never want to leave either!
Oh, they are fab 🙂 You’ve bought back such great memories of when I was there and sailing past all the little islands when we took the various ferries. Every island had its own little cabin too – it seems the Swedes set great store by having a little somewhere to escape to!
Hi VP, I haven’t got to the bit yet when we sailed up the archipelago on an amazing yacht. Stockholm is a truly fab place to visit!! Some of the country houses we saw were even a tad bigger than the allotment cabins!
How gorgeous – very inspiring. I would be glad if my back garden looked like that, let alone my allotment!
Hi Ali, I know what you mean. These allotments put my back garden to shame too. Only excuse I have is that I’m always working in other people’s gardens.
Amazingly inspiring!!
Hi Kiki, Brendan, Alexandra and Janet. It was a totally uplifting afternoon!
Aren’t they gorgeous? They look rather like the Kleingartens in Germany – there you pay quite a lot to get hold of one; the better the condition, the more you pay, I believe.
Hi Helen, That’s a good point. I’ll see if I can find out more about this….And yes, totally gorgeous!
Amazing
You lucky ducker. I’ve wanted to visit Stockholm for years and your pics and those fab allotments have convinced me that I NEED to visit next yr for sure. I’ve shared this great post to facebook and pinterest.
https://www.facebook.com/thegardendesignco
Hi Ena, I felt very lucky indeed! I was staying with a friend who’s a very keen gardener and she (enthusiastically) took to me to some great spots. We also went to Rosendal Gardens which was a fantastic organic garden, complete with their own bakery, cafe and a gorgeous orchard with plenty of picnic tables. A real treat-maybe another post to come there! Many thanks for sharing on facebook and pinterest. V.best Naomi
Beautiful place!!!
How beautiful, and surely you can sleep on your allotment like everywhere else in Europe.
Hi Sneaky Magpie, Yes, I think allotmenteers stay overnight on these plots. And who wouldn’t! Such a glorious place to wake up to.
Wow, I thought my old allotment had a good view! Fabulous.
Gorgeous photographs. They’ve got it right in Sweden and I remember seeing similar plots in Germany years ago. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Dan, that’s exactly what I thought! But maybe there are such glorious plots around the UK too, but just don’t know about them yet?
Wow. I’d happily move in to one.
How beautiful, love the moving veg crates too, and agree with Ali, I’d be very happy for my veg garden to look like this too.
Blimey indeed! These look incredible! More like a mini model village than an allotment site. Fabulous! I love those deckchairs too – very stylish indeed 🙂
What a glorious holiday! I wouldn’t want to leave once I’d seen those allotments – just fab! Love the little red fences! A lucky ducker indeed!! Pleased you had such a lovely time 🙂
Hi Nicolette, Julie, Anna B and Caro, this was indeed a gorgeous spot and could have happily spent another few hours/ days hanging out there. A great space to escape to right in the city!
Wow! How incredibly beautiful!!! I don’t think I would ever leave my garden if I had something like this. Something to be inspired by indeed! Thank you for sharing!
This looks awesome. We’re really early into our allotment. Not many beds setup yet, but we have had a harvest of strawberries and gooseberries already which was pretty good.