Garden is looking crafty

Green-fingered youngsters will test their growing skills against some of the best gardeners in the country.

The children from West Primary, in Paisley, are taking part in the Pallet Garden Challenge.

This is a country- wide competition to create a minigarden in just one square metre of growing space.

The competition is organised by Scottish Gardeners’ Forum, the network of Scottish gardening clubs, and entries are judged at Gardening Scotland, the national festival of gardening and outdoor living, which this year will take place in Edinburgh early next month.

For their Pallet Garden, P3 pupils at West Primary have been growing all kinds of plants to fit with their Minecraft theme.

Class teacher Andrew Minshall said: “Our garden is based on the theme of Minecraft where life is all about blocks.

“Our garden consists of our own Minecraft World built out of a series of blocks, which contain number of plants including Lettuce, Marigolds, Primroses and Pansies.

“The centrepiece of our garden is a large Creeper that has been hatched into our Minecraft World.

“A group of children from the school will travel to Edinburgh to set up their garden.

“Every year more than 50 schools, gardening clubs and other organisations compete in the challenge and their entries are one of the most popular features with the 25,000 visitors who flock to Gardening Scotland for plants, advice and inspiration.”

Ann Burns of the Scottish Gardeners’ Forum added: “We are constantly impressed by the level of planning and gardening know- how that young gardeners pack into their Pallet Gardens and we are looking forward to seeing the results at this year’s Show.”