The Plotting Shed

Shed Features

The Plotting Shed, is a small half size shed, set at the top of my wildlife friendly allotment plot in Lincoln. The shed is mainly constructed out of recycled wood. Situated facing an orchard of 18 fruit trees, it not only provides a resting and "plotting" spot on the allotment - where I can make a pot of tea or take shelter in bad weather - but it also doubles as a wildlife hide. Bird feeders are installed around trees surrounding the shed. A bird and bat box have been installed on it's exterior, and a bed of pollinator friendly plants is left to go fairly wild underneath the windows. There is of course, water collection via guttering from the roof.

The interior of the shed is furnished with a long "potting" table that runs from edge to edge - made out of found scaffold boards when I first took on the plot - with coffee sacks from a local roasters in Lincoln covering the shelves, and as a handy rug. Other shelves are built out of scrap wood, including leftover roof planks from a broken shed. Wildlife reference books, binoculars and prints decorate the inside. Two small stools which I picked up from a house clearance shop provide perfect perches for a brew and birdwatching. It is a space for reflection, watching and plotting...

Other Shed info

My best friend Michael and I built the shed out of two very broken sheds found on my plot when I took it over. We saved what we could- roughly half of one, hence the unusual shape of a "half shed" and used the roof of a old and dilapidated chicken shed as the floor of the Plotting Shed. We bought no new wood for this project. Only spending about £50 on the polycarbonate roof which I wanted for light into the shed - so that it can also be used as extra potting space during the growing season.

I chose to build a stable door with a small but sturdy shelf to allow for somewhere to rest tools or a mug - which might be one of my favourite features of the shed. I built all the inside shelving out of reclaimed wood. My wife, Rose, decorating the back wall with a mural of figs.

The letters on the front door are remnants from the original shed door that was broken down, the fox door knocker was a gift - and there is a bicycle bell on its side to announce your arrival on the plot.

Painting wise; the outside is painted Misty Heathland, the inside Silver Copse and the back of the door is Forest Green and Misty Heathland.

It is my favourite space on the plot.