Garden News
The latest green-fingered news from around Scotland
Flower workshops in Ayrshire
Head to Mayfield Flower Farm in Ayrshire this autumn to take part in a floral workshop. On 18 August, Botanical Inks will visit the farm to run a botanical textile dyeing day using Mayfield flowers, then on 24 August and 6 October there will be a garden to vase course showing you how to arrange the flowers from the garden. For brides to be, there’s a DIY wedding flowers workshop on 24 September. All courses are run in small groups giving you time to practise with guidance onhand. Gift vouchers are also available for workshops, so why not treat someone special to a relaxing day out? Find out more at www.mayfieldflowers.co.uk.
Top of the tower
An observation tower with a vertical gallery and bird hide has been earmarked for Inverewe Garden in Wester Ross. Architect company Denizen Works submitted a response to an open brief from the National Trust for Scotland to create a viewing tower to draw more visitors to the property. The tower has more than 64 square metres of internal floor space and will provide a landmark and orientation point for visitors.
Star of the show
Starbank Park has won ‘Best Neighbourhood Park UK’ in the Horticulture Week Custodian Awards. The small park between Granton and Newhaven in Edinburgh is looked after by volunteers who have made it a hub for their community. As well as maintaining path edges and keeping flower beds beautiful, they also host events throughout the year such as Halloween parties and Easter egg hunts. Plant pots are recycled and almost all the leaves and weeds from the park are reused as a mulch. Last year the Friends of Starbank Park volunteers planted a herbaceous border and carried out a refurbishment of the outbuildings to create a tool shed, public toilets for events, and a small meeting room. This year the friends will build raised beds to make it possible for people with disabilities to visit the garden.
AMPHIBIAN APPEAL
Sightings of frogs and toads are drying up according to RSPB’s latest wildlife survey. Part of the organisation’s Big Garden Birdwatch, the survey of 10,300 gardens found that frogs have been seen in more than 60% of Scotland’s gardens but this is a drop of 5% since 2014. Toads are also on the decline in gardens, having been seen in 17% of outdoor spaces, down from 25% four years ago. Only half of those who took part reported seeing a toad in their garden in the last year. RSPB Scotland is calling on people to help the amphibians by getting outside this summer to create more ponds and pools in their outdoor spaces. To learn more visit www.rspb.org.uk/wildchallenge