Garden centre planting seeds of a good idea
Community and charity groups in Edinburgh and the Lothians are being offered help to transform, restore and create green spaces.
With the launch of this year’s Community Gardens initiative, garden centre retailer Dobbies is inviting anyone who has a community space that needs gardening knowledge and inspiration – indoors or outdoors – to get in touch as soon as possible.
The Little Dobbies outlet in Stockbridge and the Edinburgh store at Melville, Lasswade, will each select a project to support from the nominations they receive.
The winning groups will receive products, tools and plants to help bring their community space to life during a personal-shopper session with a dedicated Dobbies colleague.
In addition to this, the winners will be allocated volunteer hours to help bring their project to fruition. Successful applicants will receive support over the year to keep their indoor or outdoor space blooming.
Dobbies’ operations director Nick Anderson said: “There are so many brilliant community groups near our Stockbridge little dobbies and Edinburgh store – from schools and nurseries, to In Bloom Groups and charities, and even local sports teams.
“Our store colleagues are ready to take on a fresh challenge for this year and we want to hear from groups in Edinburgh and the Lothians who would benefit from our support.
“If anyone knows of a community group that has a garden living project in need of our help, please encourage them to enter.”
Applications are now open to anyone located within 20 miles of Dobbies’ Edinburgh store or five miles of the Stockbridge Little Dobbies store.
Nominated projects will be invited along to the Edinburgh store for the free Grow How session at 10.30am on Saturday, May 4, when the winner will be announced.
As the Stockbridge Little Dobbies store doesn’t hold a free Grow How session, the winner will be contacted separately. The winning group for each store will be introduced to a colleague who will support them throughout the project.
To submit a nomination or find out more about the scheme go to www.dobbies.com/community-gardens