By Graeme Esson BBC Scotland's news website

Budding plot holders can face lengthy waiting lists

A new generation is getting a taste of the good life by joining Scotland's allotment community.

The stereotypical image of an old bloke escaping home life to savour the sanctuary of his shed is losing whatever credence it once had.

With environmental issues and healthy eating high on the agenda, allotments are becoming increasingly fashionable.

That has been reflected by the growing number of twenty and thirty-somethings getting back to nature with their own plots.

They include Glasgow artist and architect Ewan Imrie, who has been cultivating his crops in the Riddrie area for about five years.

He said the number of pensioners at the site was dwindling, being replaced by a younger breed - many of them "arty types".

Outdoor space

He thought they were becoming involved because artists "tend to have a bit of time on their hands and don't have much money".

The 33-year-old said a lot of people could only afford to live in tenement flats - but were desperate for their own piece of outdoor space.

"I think there is also a growing consciousness about where food comes from, and that has influenced a lot of people - myself included."

I couldn't contemplate living in the city without a garden Christine Ironside

Mick Peter, 30, has a plot at the same Kennyhill allotment, and said his interest grew from an aim of "low-impact living".

"It forms part of a wider lifestyle choice. You want to take responsibility for what you are eating, just like you do with the kind of transport you use," he explained.

"I am also a very keen cook, and the two things marry very well. If you want the best food you have to get on and do it yourself."

The organic aspect is also important to another Glasgow artist, 32-year-old Justin Carter.

His son Theo began suffering from eczema a few months after his birth two-and-a-half years ago.

I find the architecture and design principles that you find in allotments quite interesting Justin Carter

The family was advised to eat as much organic food as possible - but the cost of buying it from supermarkets began to mount up.

"I started thinking about how we could get organic food but cheaper," he said.

"I already had a long-standing interest in allotments, so the two things coincided.

"A lot of my work is informed by things in relation to food and food production, and I also find the architecture and design principles that you find in allotments quite interesting.

"It is nice to do it as a hobby."

Over in the west end of the city, artist Christine Ironside has divided her allotted space between the traditional fruit and veg and a more unusual plot device - a garden of contemplation and meditation.

Piece of land

The Buddhist, who uses the space for her own art and to host events for other plot holders, said she would rather leave Glasgow than live without her allotment.

"I would just have to go. I couldn't contemplate living in the city without a garden."

Judy Wilkinson, secretary of the Scottish Allotments and Garden Society, also feels strongly about people's need to have a piece of land that they can call their own.

She gave me a tour of the in-demand site at Julian Avenue in the west end of Glasgow, where she has her own plot.

I really do think that more allotments would improve the quality of life for many people Judy Wilkinson

It soon became apparent just how many of those who shared the site were from the new generation, often with young children in tow.

Judy, who has had her plot for three decades, said: "An allotment site is a microcosm of society, so you get all kinds of reasons for people to come.

"You get retired people who are there all day every day and have cups of tea in their huts, then you have the young people who just manage half an hour after work.

"It is better than going to the gym. The young people give something back, and that's important."

Skills lost

She said the allotment was like a village, providing a place where a cross-section of the community could get together and talk to each other.

They all had a passion for gardening and liked to share information - something which could be particularly useful to those who are new to the game.

It means they can pick up the skills which were lost to a generation with the loss of many allotments in the 1950s and 1960s.

However, a shortage of allotments in Glasgow means that many people are now missing out on access to their own plot.

Judy Wilkinson has had her plot for about 30 years

Almost all the sites managed by Glasgow City Council have waiting lists, with Julian Avenue at the top of the tree.

There are 100 plots split between the site and the nearby Kirklee allotment - and a 150-strong waiting list

That means people are waiting six years for a place, and Judy admitted: "It is really sad".

"We have had people crying because they really do want a garden.

"I really do think that more allotments would improve the quality of life for many people."

Mrs Wilkinson said that growing their own food enabled people to cut down their environmental footprint - the measure of how much land and water people need to support their consumption.

Allotments need a hardcore element of people who are going to be there every day and it is a shame that there doesn't seem to be so many pensioners doing it Ewan Imrie

The plots were originally designed to be big enough to feed a family of four all year round.

Judy said they encouraged people to become more aware of eating things in season.

"We are importing strawberries all year round, whereas for my family the first strawberries in June were something to be celebrated."

She said the effort put into the crops made waste less likely - and the final product "teaches you the value of not expecting perfection".

City dwellers have a limited access to green space of their own

Ewan said people with allotments could taste the difference between their own crops and the often bland supermarket fare.

But he cautioned that the shifting of the balance from pensioners to the new generation of plot holders could have its down side.

"Younger people tend to move quite a lot and I do worry that when they move to another part of the city they are not able to keep it on.

"Allotments need a hardcore element of people who are going to be there every day and it is a shame that there doesn't seem to be so many pensioners doing it.