Landscape Architect Visit: How Stefano Marinaz Uses His London Allotment as a Garden Laboratory - Gardenista

An allotment is the British English term for community garden, but it means more than that: it is a European concept of growing food where space at home might be limited. It has currency in the UK and Italy, where landscape architect Stefano Marinaz grew up, taking stock of his grandfather’s allotment and learning the business of seed-sowing and nurturing plants from a young age. Now based in Chiswick, West London, the landscape architect has been able to fulfill his dream of owning a glasshouse, while dividing the 30 square yards available to every allotment holder between his interest in food and a desire to experiment with plants. It is also a place for his colleagues to get some dirt under their nails, and to show eager clients a bit more about the business of growing.

Below, Stefano takes up the story:

Photography by Alister Thorpe.

Above: In the greenhouse. Allotments are often messy but highly organized. This one in Chiswick is beautifully organized while still being recognizable as an allotment.

“Our apartment didn’t have any outdoor space, therefore the idea of an allotment was perfect,” explains Stefano. “When we got it [there is often a long waiting list] there were brambles everywhere, with rotting timber around raised beds. After roughly a year I realized how much space we actually had. I didn’t need to feed 50 people. So I decided to allocate roughly half of the allotment for edible plants and half for flowering perennials and annuals that I wanted to test and see how different plant combinations worked together. In particular, I was interested in seeing how the perennials would establish with very little care, and which plant communities would be the most resilient, with an idea of adapting these planting schemes for our clients.”

Above: The glasshouse is surrounded by personal touches like a habitat for insects on a bamboo frame, and woven edging along the dirt path.

“The allotment then started to became an interesting project, as bit by bit we were putting in vegetables beds, with new perennial combinations, and growing in pots, and adding the glasshouse. Every season there was so much to look forward to.”

Above: Glass cloches provide warmth for young cucumbers in an uncertain climate.

“It became also an opportunity for us to bring clients along and show them how a naturalistic planting can be integrated with vegetables,” he continues. “The allotment is a way to show clients that it is not impossible to grow vegetables, and to work with nature within your own garden—and that they should give it a try.”