Our allotment is in front of the two trees at the centre of this picture:

We did some ground preparation before going away on holiday for the first two weeks of June, and only after that planted anything - very late in the growing season. These two pictures were taken in mid July: they show four (of a planned ten) four foot by twelve foot raised beds separated by one foot wide isolation trenches. The trenches act as paths between the beds and help stop weeds: all parts of the beds can be reached from the paths, so we don't have to walk on the plant growing area at any time.

At the extreme right of the picture is an area of uncultivated ground which will eventually be home to a bench and (we hope) a greenhouse. The top right bed is covered in a black plastic membrane which lets rain through but stops weeds, and is planted with runner beans growing up canes. The front right bed has a few marigolds in the centre with the first of a full bed of peas starting to appear. The top left bed is starting to show some green compost growing through, which will eventually be dug in to fertilise the soil. The front left bed is showing the first signs of some salad plants, onions, carrots, cabbages and spinach.

Our compost bin, where we are rotting down vegetation and kitchen waste, is visible beyond the beans. To the left of the four cultivated beds the ground has been roughly dug and covered in black plastic membrane to keep weeds down, pending final digging.

In the distance you can see other peoples allotments and greenhouse. We've got a lot more work to do, and another lot of pictures taken in the second half of August follow.