Floating gardens visit the Kelpies
AFTER a successful tour on the Forth & Clyde Canal from Glasgow to Falkirk and onwards along the Union Canal to Edinburgh, the Floating Gardens are now in residence at the Kelpies in Helix Park until September.
There will be a series of events – music, art and gardening – throughout the summer, culminating in a harvest celebration on the weekend of September 10/11.
Along the way, the three barges carrying a floating allotment (complete with polytunnel), raised beds, growing cube eco garden, and performance stage stopped at 12 canalside communities for minigrow pack giveaways, growing advice, and live music and entertainment. A total of 6000 plants and 2000 sets of seeds were given away, together with the all- important instructions.
Boating the 14 locks between Falkirk and Kelpies was a challenge. The first locking took 30 minutes to complete as the team worked out how to fit all three vessels into a lock without hitting the cill. In the end, the journey took just four hours.
The floating gardens are part of the Dandelion Project, a grow-your-own initiative of pop-up events, growing and entertainment across Scotland this year. Visit the floating gardens at the Helix or find out what else is happening at dandelion.scot/whats-on/