Dream of a Pink Allotment Cottage

The allotment garden has been in a beautiful location on the shore of Suojärvi for almost ten years, but for many locals it is still a rather unknown destination. Suojärven siirtolapuutarha is located in the Suolahti urban area about a little over a kilometer from the center.   A winding road to the allotment garden runs through Suojarinne. You need to read the signposts carefully so that you find the right place. 

At the allotment garden’s parking area, your gaze is drawn to a sweet pink cottage peeking out from the meadow landscape. The cottage is owned by the Pohjalainen family, who welcomed me and my camera as a guest. 

Suomen siirtolapuutarhaliitto, which turns 90 this year, has defined an allotment garden as areas reserved for cultivation that are divided into 200–500 square meter plots. On the plots, you may build, according to standard drawings, a lightweight cottage.  Suojärven siirtolapuutarhassa the plots are 300 square meters in size, and on a plot you may build a 35 square meter cottage and a 15 square meter storage or shed building. On the Pohjalainen family’s allotment plot there is a pink cottage and a storage building. In addition to the buildings, the plot has a beautiful yard area. Gorgeous paths meander across the yard, and the plantings are in carefully chosen places. The cottage host, Harri Pohjalainen, putters about the yard and laughs that he can’t escape work on the plot the same way as, for example, his wife Mirva, who works as a nurse, since he builds yards for a living. 

A family from Tikkakoski became interested in Suojärven siirtolapuutarha after seeing a newspaper article about the construction of the area’s first cottage. The cottage owner Mirva Pohjalainen says that the allotment garden cottages she saw during childhood summers in Kotka made an indelible impression, and as a child she already dreamed of a pink allotment cottage with a black roof. She got one in 2013 in Suolahti. 

According to the Pohjalainen family, the best thing about Suojärven siirtolapuutarha is the change it brings to everyday life. In Suojärven siirtolapuutarha, nature is close. Foxes, hares, and pheasants often make appearances to the cottage-goers. For the Pohjalainen family, it is important that the cottage is nearby. Sometimes they even drive to the cottage on a weekday evening just to visit. 

The residents of the allotment garden form a close-knit community that together takes responsibility for the allotment area. In the allotment garden there is a shared recreation area for the cottage users, as well as a sauna with swimming beaches. The cottage residents take turns cleaning the sauna, and maintenance work is also done jointly. The sauna building is also rented to outsiders by the cottage residents under normal circumstances. The restrictions caused by the coronavirus are visible at the allotment garden as well, and the sauna has not been rented to others this summer. 

Due to the coronavirus, the allotment garden’s annual open day has also been canceled. On the open day, you can get to know the allotment area and the cottages in more detail. The allotment garden season begins in mid-April and ends in mid-October. Hopefully the open day will be arranged before the end of the season, as the allotment area is truly worth a visit. You may visit the allotment garden at other times as well, but do remember that you may enter cottage yards only with permission. 

The allotment garden is a true hidden treasure of the city of Äänekoski, well worth a visit. 

With garden dreams, Anniina @annhetes