MONTHS ago, my father gave me some courgette seedlings he had carefully been growing in his greenhouse.

Courgettes were top on my list of things I wanted to grow on my allotment when I first took it on back in December.

Hence I took extra-special care of my new plants - choosing the best spot for them, watering them regularly, feeding them occasionally and protecting them from the dreaded slugs.

During a cold snap I even resorted to putting them under cloches - a kind of mini-greenhouse big enough for one plant - to keep warm.

They came along well, putting on good growth and eventually flowering with beautiful big orange flowers.

The anticipation was too much - every week I'd trot down to see whether they had started to grow any fruit, but every week I would leave disappointed.

After many weeks of flowers but still no fruit I decided to take a good look at this irritatingly barren weed that was now taking up a large part of the best spot on the allotment.

After peering through the canopy of prickly leaves I spied an odd-shaped pale green growth on the end of a flower that looked suspiciously like a miniature flying saucer.

After checking with Tony, my 80-year-old New Best Friend on the lot next to me, I was reliably informed that my courgette' plant was in fact a patty-pan squash.

Far be it for me to suggest that the provider of said seedling was having a senior moment' while labelling his trays of plants back in the spring.

However, I am still having to make a weekly trip to the local shops to satisfy my courgette cravings.

Elsewhere on the plot, the summer has been reasonably successful with all my potatoes cropping well and runner beans, French beans and peas all providing prolific crops.

But both the white and red onions have not grown any bigger than they were in spring, which is sad as they looked promising, and the sweetcorn never even germinated.