The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Do sit under the apple tree
Fancy lunching on fresh herbs and salad leaves from the heart of the city? Head to Slessor Gardens, where Dundee Urban Orchard wants everyone to pick their own
If the word “orchard” conjures up images of great swathes of trees deep in the countryside you’ll be surprised to see what’s growing slap bang in the middle of Dundee. Slessor Gardens is home to one of 25 small-scale orchards springing up across the city. Planted by Dundee Urban Orchard (DUO) and its partners in a project which began three years ago, this network has earned Dundee the title of Scotland’s first Orchard City.
The Slessor Gardens site is a partnership with Dundee City Council but DUO also works with community centres, libraries, schools and other cultural organisations and individuals.
When I turn up at the green oasis, DUO founders Jonathan Baxter and Sarah Gittins are already hard at work, weeding and planting soft fruit.
They’re keen for volunteers to help out so I get stuck in with a spade and dig in a raspberry bush donated by the James Hutton Institute.
As we work, Jonathan explains that the idea behind the project is to raise awareness of “food sustainability” and “food justice”.
“Food poverty is a huge issue in Dundee,”he says. “In an ideal world, there would be no food banks; there’d be more community gardens and orchards like this, so we’re doing what we can to make changes and bring awareness to these problems.
“We define ourselves as an art and horticulture project but we’re trying to support the social and emotional wellbeing of the city by offering a celebratory response to the local and global problem of food poverty.
“It’s an open invitation to everyone to come here and enjoy the space and when the fruit is ripe, to harvest and eat the produce.”
Three of DUO’s orchards supply fruit and vegetables to food banks, including the Giving Garden project at Menzieshill Parish Church.
Other sites include the Ninewells and Maxwell community gardens, Camperdown Wildlife Garden and the Art-Science Orchard linking the DCA and Dundee Science Centre. However, Jonathan and Sarah regard this haven at Slessor Gardens, planted in June last year, as the “gateway” to the Orchard City.
“It’s the first orchard you might encounter when visiting the city, and it introduces you to a wider network of innovative community projects,” says Jonathan.
“Anyone can come here and enjoy the herbs and fruit free of charge and it’s nice for people to come down at lunchtime and add some fennel or nasturtiums to their lunch, or maybe take something home for their dinner.”
The orchard boasts a great selection of culinary, medicinal and biodiversity herbs, including rosemary, lavender, valerian, lemon balm, chives, thyme, calamint, wild bergamot, fennel, heartsease and hyssop.
There are also six apple trees and a soft fruit bed, boasting raspberries and blackberries.
“All of the orchard sites are semiautonomous; everyone involved plants and maintains their own spaces,” explains Jonathan.
“But genuine participation needs ongoing support – hence we run maintenance and care workshops and promote the project through various art exhibitions and events.”
To younger generations, berry or tattie picking may be an alien concept, but the practice was once a key part of seasonal life locally and across Scotland.
Throw in this area’s connection to orchards, which originated in the Carse of Gowrie around 800 years ago, and you have a rich history of food cultivation.
It’s this heritage which DUO hopes to harness in its drive to reconnect citizens to the food on their plates.
“A large proportion of food available in Dundee has travelled long distances and is purchased in packaged or processed form from supermarket shelves,” says Sarah.
“When we lose our connection to food, we lose a sense of what sustains us and this affects our care for one another and the planet.”