Huntly invited to join in with Deveron Projects gardening project
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A NEW series of gardening workshops has been launched in Huntly.
The workshops, set up by Deveron Projects, will take place at the Brander Building and Square Deal gardens and will help gardeners – of all levels – develop their skills.
On Saturday, February 4, the first workshop gave tips about planning a garden, from window boxes to roadside verges, front lawns to established allotments.
Producer at Deveron Projects Jenny Salmean, along with gardener Lindy Young, is behind the new rolling workshop series.
She said the first event was a huge success and paved the way for future sessions.
She said: “It went really well.
“A lot of people came together for the workshop and it was a great foundation going forward.
“It is so lovely to spend three hours talking about gardens.
“And I think it will help people come together too, because it is nice to do things like gardening collectively.”
Plans for the Brander Garden include new beds, a new system of water butts and a paved area.
Ms Salmean said the first workshops showed off the creative benefits of garden planning.
She said: “Planning a garden is a really creative experience.
“Especially as, during winter, everything is still dormant and it is a blank canvas.
“In the case of the Brander Garden, it will be decided by what we want to see and what we would like on our plate.”
Ms Young said it was great to see members of the public using the garden after spending so long maintaining it.
She said: “For a long while I was just keeping the garden up but, as time went on, it has become more of an involved project.
“It was lovely to have people here. It just doesn’t make sense not to have people in the garden.
“There was a lot of expertise in the small group.
“And some of them suggested ways we could do things that we hadn’t considered.”
Workshops will run for the next 11 months and are free to anybody regardless of experience level, with the March workshop considering how best to manage under-cover crops.
Along with the caretaker's garden, Deveron Projects is also improving their outdoor space at Square Deal.
Ms Salmean said the two gardens were being kept with different atmospheres, with the caretaker's garden a practical base for projects and workshops and the Square Deal garden as an "oasis in the town centre".
Deveron Projects art and community worker Jess Carnegie said the workshops were part of a wider green space effort in the town.
She said: "Huntly is a funny one, because it is really well connected to green spaces but only if you have a car.
"We have been trying to think about the importance of green space in places like Huntly.
"And we know there is a lot of knowledge about food production, plants and the environment in the local area so we are trying to reflect that."
Full list of workshop activities
- February – Drawing plans for your edible, nature friendly garden
- March – Under-cover crops
- April – Later plantings and potting on seedlings under cover
- April – Practical workshop demonstrating principles of Forest Gardening
- May – Principles of creating wildlife friendly meadow at home
- May – Preparing and planting a no-dig veg bed
- June – How to make the most of a small space for growing edibles
- July – Making cuttings from your garden
- August – Making and using your own compost
- September – Gathering seed for your wild garden and veg plot
- October – Lifting, splitting and swapping perennial plants
- November – Planting bulbs, cutting back and mulching ready for winter
- December – Principles of apple tree pruning in winter
