I use both methods, depending on the client and whether they want to pay for a separate design or not. What I do find helpful if just winging it, is to really know your sun/shade exposure, sizes of mature plants, and work with a general scheme that has some overall organizing principle. As an example, I just went into a local specialty nursery and went wild buying plants for a new back yard remodel in the Oakland Hills of northern California. I basically knew that I wanted to play off some existing pale green timber bamboo trunks against an ochre stained concrete retaining wall, and that the client wanted to use tropicals and more color for this area, but also really liked foliage texture and color. Other key ingredients to work around included using a maroon colored Ensete ventricosum Maurellii as an accent plant, a very large specimen New Zealand Tree Fern as another focal point, and a mature existing Windmill Palm/Trachycarpus fortunei. I knew I only had small areas of full sun, and mostly shaded raised beds, and wanted to give a lush, tropical look as seen from inside the house. The client also wanted flowers to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. I also thought I wanted to emphasize mid fall into winter blooms, with lots of orange and purple accents, as the garden is to be installed in the next couple of weeks, and needs to look good for a garden tour on October 20th. With that in mind, I selected some foliage plants such as the gorgeous Hedychium greenei with purple stems and underside of leaves and orange flowers blooming now, and some deep green with even deeper purple underside of leaves Clerodendron quadroliculare to play off the maroon of the banana, and situated them above eye level so that the leaf undersides would feature prominently. I also added understory plantings with a purple foliage theme such as Oxalis spiralis vulcanicola Burgundy and Billbergia 'Bill', along with purple tinged foliage of the compact bushy Euphorbia Jade Dragon to complete the purple element. I also knew that I wanted a good amount of orange foliage and blooms, and could not resist the fall foliage color of a Poncirius trifoliata Flying Dragon as a complement to the Ensete, with a mass planting of a dwarf shrubby Coprosma Evening Glow to pick up this color, and further another Oxalis, O. s. v. Sunset Velvet to trail over walls as well. The orange flowers will come from several Abutilons such as A. megapotamica Marianne and A. m. Halo as well as the gorgeous Abutilon Victor Reiter. Clumps of a narrow leafed compact form of Clivia miniata will also star as mass ground cover below the Tree Fern. Yellow accents for shade to brighten up the darker corners will rely on a Alpinia zerumbet variegata, the yellow star like flowers of the Oxalis spiralis, and the variegated yellow stripes of bromeliads such as Neoregelia Bossa Nova. Greens to complement the bamboo trunks will mostly feature grassy foliage clumps of Dianella intermedia, and various Restios such as Elegia capensis, some slightly stiffer upright clumping Restio tetraphyllus with beautiful chartreuse foliage, and an accent Elegia fistula with very interesting seed heads. Clumps of the Chinese Banana, Musella lasiocarpa will also serve as understory to the taller growing Ensete, mirroring the form of the taller, while also giving some screening of mechanical equipment, and the added bonus of the bright yellow artichoke like flower as summer accents. Some other accent plants to carry the maroon theme beyond the Ensete into sunnier parts of the garden at the raised patio beyond will include the tropical Ricinus communis New Zealand Purple with the deep purple foliage and rosy red flowers, and the tropical vining Purple Wings vine, Dalechampia dioscoreifolia to cover a rear fence. A Grevillea Robyn Gordon for flashes of red and entice the hummingbirds year round will combine with our native Zaushneria also in fall bloom with scarlet flowers and soft gray foliage. In late winter, the Pincushion Protea, Leucospermum cordifolium Yellow Bird will provide yellow accents, and play off the deep purple blooms of the tree like Tibouchina urvilleana. Clumps of the large soft shrubby Salvia splendens Van Houttei are also massed here and there to give a burgundy red tint to carry the red/purple theme throughout the garden. I was tempted to go in several different directions while I was shopping at the nursery, but had to remind myself that I only had so much room to plant, and that each plant had to fit into the color and texture theme that was established by the existing timber bamboo and Red Abyssinian Banana. I must admit it is a pleasure to be able to design a garden for mid fall into winter that will be showy and colorful, and not have to wait until spring for such impact, but it does mean that one has to have a working familiarity with what works with our local climate, and can be depended upon for year round impact without looking ratty in winter. I probably could have done this all in plan as well, but the client always seems to respond better when I just show up with the proposed plants and start placing them in the garden. I suppose it also allows him more input, as we debate the locations and combinations, and end up tweaking my ideas in response to his suggestions. We have enough practice at this by now to be able to persuade him to locate plants with the proper sun/shade orientation and allow for mature sizes. I try to pay attention to his requests to locate certain plants where he insists he wants them, and come up with suggestions that are similar when the sun/shade or size doesn't work for his request. It does force me to put on my thinking cap and be able to suggest similar alternatives that will work. So could you say this is both careful planning and making it up as you go? To me, it certainly seems to combine a bit of both, or would you call it semi restrained anarchy? With all that in mind

"How might I see some of these allotments??" They are all over the country. If you just take a train trip anywhere and look out of the window you'll almost certainly see some. Mine is visible from the pavement or any passing bus. (Not from a car because of the high stone wall.) Or just Google the name of the place you are in and 'allotments' and you'll find a list of sites. e.g. Southampton & Allotments get you this: Allotments - Southampton City Council https://www.southampton.gov.uk/people-places/parks-open-spaces/allotments/ There are over 1,700 allotment plots on 23 different sites around the city, available to rent annually. The cost to rent a site depends on the location and size of the ... Find an allotment A typical allotment plot is ten rods, (a rod is 25 square meters ... Allotment rules These rules have been developed over the years in consultation ... Apply for an allotment Apply for an allotment ... search (works for addresses in the ... Allotment advice Below you will find some helpful advice on what you can and ... More results from southampton.gov.uk » However, to actually access an allotment site you might need to find someone to let you in. Many have keys which only plot holders can have. This is my site in August.

A grocery clerk this evening told me that his friend is planning to buy several cases of water, put them on ice and deliver them to people stuck in their cars on the roads. He would accept donations, but no obligation-I thought that was a super idea. We're expecting over half a million people in our town. My office will pretty much be empty-I don't know who will be there, but I know I'm not going to be! We're mandated by law to be open, so it may just be the Director answering the phone, LoL.

Well we are smack dab in the middle of totality. Meeting I went to on Monday night said to expect no less than 25K people here up to 100K. needless to say even at 25K I am terrified. I invited three total strangers to come stay with me at my house. I am less afraid having total strangers than to sit this one out alone. they will be here Sunday night through possible Monday night. The roads are supposed to be impassable starting Sunday evening so they will roll in hopefully by early afternoon Sunday. After that getting out of here it is predicted even with the lowest amount of people to take 5 to 6 hours to travel 36 miles. String weaver you might up your travel times a bit or maybe check into it to see. Honestly I could care less about this. I have seen an eclipse. Not total of course but it really has no interest for me. But then maybe I will have met some fun friends. And yes I know it all sounds so dangerous. Well let me tell you about dangerous. I had the 20 year old grandson of the next door neighbors that has been stalking me since March throwing rocks at my house the other night for 2 hours. It was in the middle of the night and I just was not sure what was going on. The next morning it was obvious and I had the sheriff make a call on him and sheriff said for sure he did it but would not admit it. Anyway he did warn him that is is breaking the law and next time he will be charged. Of course kid did not tall grand parents which did not happen to be home when sheriff went over there so I told them that night. So tired of being stalked and bullied by this kid. The people coming know of this and will be setting him straight. Stringweaver that is some amazing gas mileage. Very impressed.