R2 SUMMER EVENT HELD AT GRANTON CASTLE WALLED GARDEN
R2 held our Summer Garden Party in Granton Castle’s Walled Garden last week.
Garden Parties are becoming something of an annual event for R2 – last year’s gathering at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre was a great success – and once again the event proved very popular with more than fifty local organisations represented.
Granton Castle’s Walled Garden is very much a hidden jewel, and for many participants it was a first opportunity to enjoy the wonderful green space that is tucked away between Caroline Park House and Social Bite Village.
Following a delicious buffet lunch provided by North Edinburgh’s very own Empty Kitchens Full Hearts, Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden chairperson Gillean Paterson treated visitors to a tour of the near three-acre site – and there was a delight around every corner.
From flowers beds and vegetable patches to an impressive orchard stocked with a great variety of apple, damson and plum trees, the garden is a natural wonder, teeming with life. The walled garden is ablaze with colour, and this despite the fact that there is no electricity supply and no running water on-site!
Tended by a team of enthusiastic volunteers – I was given my own wee personal tour by one volunteer who has put his handyman and building skills to good use all over the site – the garden really is an amazing local success story.
The Garden Party was an opportunity for R2 member projects to network and share information, and – maybe it was the sunshine! – there seemed to be more positive news to share than has sometimes been the case in the past. We even had music!
Connections have been made with a number of local organisations who now use the garden space regularly, and I have no doubt many more will now be making a beeline down to Granton Castle Walled Garden again following the R2 visit!
For further information about Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden, visit their website or email grantongarden@gmail.com.
For further information about R2, email Anita at hello@R2.org.uk