Gardeners across Stirling will have the opportunity to get a head start on their fruit and vegetable growing this year thanks to Braehead Community Garden.  On Saturday 12^th May from noon-4pm, the Big Lottery funded facility will be hosting its third annual plant sale.  Vegetable plants, bedding plants tomato plants, perennials and decorative planters will be available for sale.  All money raised will be used to help run the two and a half acre site on Broom Road, just two minutes drive from the city centre.

Plants for sale have been grown from seed in the giant polytunnels at Braehead.  Run entirely by volunteers, Ann Kirk is the Community Garden Propagation Manager and has been busy with her team readying the plants for sale. 

Ann says,

“The Polytunnels are fantastic for bringing on seedlings and whether you’re looking for a broccoli plant or a strawberry plant, we’ll have a huge selection of fruit and vegetables for sale.  After we received so many requests last year, we’ve also grown a variety of perennials and decorative plants for sale, and we’ve got some rowan trees as well.  With prices much keener than you’ll find at supermarkets and garden centres, and to help a community project into the bargain, I hope gardeners come along and support our annual sale.

Visitors to the sale will also be able to take a tour of the garden and learn about all of the different elements of this project.  Visitors who live within one mile of the garden will also be able to apply for a raised bed and become a growing member.

The Garden address is Broom Road, Stirling, FK7 7GU.  The plant sale is on Saturday 12 May from noon-4pm.  Please pass on the details to anybody you think might be interested!

Come to the community open day  at Braehead Community Garden on Sunday 8 April.  Home baking, Plant Sale, Easter Bonnet Parade, meet the honeybees, handle the hens, tour the garden, see the men’s shed, find out about membership and the many activities on offer at one of Stirling’s top community facilities.

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Braehead Community Garden will be marking the beginning of the 2018 growing season with a “Spring Fling” community event on Sunday 8 April from 1pm-4pm.

There will also be a plant sale with early flower, fruit and vegetable plants grown in the Garden’s polytunnels by volunteers.  There will be a teddy tombola, a raffle and families will be encouraged to make Easter bonnets with a parade of the finished creations in the afternoon.  One of the garden’s polytunnels will become a “vintage tea room” for the day, with lots of home baking on offer.

Volunteers will be giving tours of the garden and demonstrating what can be grown by members who hire small raised beds in both the garden and the polytunnel – there are still a handful of these “micro-allotments” available for the coming year.

Visitors will also be able to get hands on with the small flock of hens.  More daring visits will be able to find out more about the garden’s small apiary of honeybees.

There will also be tours of the newly converted workshop which will be available to members in 2018 for a variety of activities covering everything from woodworking to upcycling and repairing to recycling.  The workshop has also joined the worldwide “men’s shed” movement and will be offering sessions every week.

Community Garden Chairperson Chris Kane says,

“This is our third annual Spring Fling event and a great opportunity for everybody to see what is on offer at Braehead Community Garden.  Our fantastic facility is evolving every year, with 2017 seeing the arrival of our hens, honeybees and orchard.  In 2018 we’re starting a tea plantation, creating a biodiversity wetland and opening a Men’s Shed workshop.  With our regular members’ BBQs, craft night, gardening workshops and more, you get a great deal of fun and activity for a £12 annual membership at Braehead Community Garden!”

The Spring Fling event is on from 1pm-4pm on Sunday 8 April at Braehead Community Garden, Broom Road, Stirling, FK7 7GU.  For more information on memberships, log onto www.braehead.org/garden.

 

Braehead Community Garden is getting ready to start the 2018 growing season, with a reminder that memberships are available now.  The popular community facility’s membership year starts on 1^st April.  Membership costs £12, giving access to the garden and all events and workshops.  You can also lease a raised bed for £52 and grow your own fruit and vegetables.

Other facilities members can access are raised beds in the garden’s polytunnels for growing more exotic food.  There is a flock of egg laying hens, a picnic area and a communal kitchen garden where members teach each other growing skills.

There is also a member run apiary where members can learn how to keep honeybees.  Members also enjoy regular workshops and classes, covering everything from crafts to propagating, composting and cooking.

For 2018, the garden has also joined the “Men’s Shed” movement and converted a shipping container into a workshop, with drop in sessions on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10am-noon. Despite the “Men’s Shed” movement name, the workshop is open to both men and women.

The garden also runs monthly members’ BBQs and public events including the popular Braehead Horticultural Show in August and the Pumpkin Festival in October.

Community Garden Chairperson Chris Kane says,

“This is fantastic, welcoming community space.  At Braehead, we’re as interested in “community” as we are in “gardening” and we’re going from strength to strength with a increasing membership and a packed programme of activities, events, workshops, and growing spaces.  The garden is also a relaxing community area where you can simply sit and watch the world and the trains pass by.   I would encourage everybody to get growing at Braehead Community Garden in 2018.”

Braehead Community Garden opened in 2015 thanks to a £250,000 lottery grant.  If you would like to find out more or arrange a visit, log onto www.braehead.org/garden.  You can also drop-in any Tuesday or Saturday morning between 1000-noon.  You do not have to live in Braehead to become a member.