Is it still relevant to grow your own food in an increasingly busy and complex world? Alison explains how she has grappled with this question and come to the conclusion that it’s more important than ever to hold onto skills of self sufficiency as an act of resistance and care and that productive gardens can be just as beautiful and inspiring as purely ornamental gardens.

We take a look at the history of growing food in cottage gardens, allotments and kitchen gardens in Britain to consider how our cultural memory of these growing spaces might influence how we garden today.

We then consider how our gardening practice might evolve going forward in an era of environmental crisis, to use fewer resources, more perennials and create more habitat for wildlife with a mindset that is open to experimenting, learning and adapting.

Alison runs Damson Farm, a 2 acre site near Bath, Somerset, UK where she experiments with growing unusual, ornamental edibles to create a garden where creativity, biodiversity, beauty and productivity intermingle. She has been on BBC Gardeners World with Frances Tophill

https://www.alisonjenkins.co.uk/