Volunteers planting for the future
FRUIT trees have been planted in a popular Dunbar park.
Volunteers spent Easter Sunday getting their hands dirty carrying out work at Winterfield Park.
Friends of Winterfield had a planting event, with the wildlife garden now featuring a new hedge of hazel, rowan, wild pear, bird cherry and other examples of fruiting and flowering trees that will be trimmed and maintained as a hedge.
Once established, the hedge will provide shelter to the garden, as well as producing fruit to feed insects and wildlife.
As well as the hedge, the group also planted apple, pear, plum, quince, elderflower and mulberry trees.
Esther Hughes, Friends of Winterfield co-chairperson, described the planting event as “successful”.
She said: “We plan to keep these trimmed to keep them manageable.
“Once we get some warmth in the soil, we’ll seed our wildflower bed, plus we’ll put in some of the smaller plants like the primrose and violets in the shady corner; hops; honeysuckle; oxeye daisies; wild strawberries and the remaining fruit bushes (currants mainly but I think there’s gooseberry too).
“This is a very exciting project for us.
“The land was the site of a former clubhouse and squash court, and the ground is very hard to cultivate. Despite that, we are astonished to have got this far so quickly.
“I’m really looking forward to the summer and to be able to sit in the garden and listen to the bees.”
The group successfully raised funding for the garden through East Lothian Council’s regeneration fund and Coast to Coast Surf School, while some plants were donated locally.