Britt-Marie Daxberg, with pitchfork in hand, enjoying the summer in her allotment on Långholmen, an island in Stockholm. Photo: Brett Ascarelli / Radio Sweden

Lyssna: "They have to be very, very patient"

If you live in an apartment in the city, and digging in the flower box isn't quite enough to satisfy your green thumb, there's an alternative. Signing up to rent an allotment, a little patch of land right in town, where you can grow flowers and vegetables. The trouble is that it can take years, even decades, by the time one actually becomes available.

Perched on the tranquil...