Open Day at Granton Castle Walled Garden

Yesterday Granton Castle Walled Garden held an open day! We had never visited the gardens before - they were more or less derelict for years and volunteers have been working since 2013 to renovate them. Last spring, excavations of the foundation of the castle look-out tower revealed that the Granton Estate dates back to around 1160. You can find out more about the castle's history and how to get involved on the Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden blog.

There were a range of activities going on but mostly it was just an opportunity to explore the gardens. In the photo below you can see the iconic Granton gasometer in the background.

 The kitchen gardens already look wonderfully productive 

with informative labels to explain some of the berbs

the chives look particularly beautiful just now as their flowers are just opening

Musicians were playing in the tent

and there was the chance to try your hand at weaving with natural materials on a large loom

There was a little display of artist's books

and mini artworks throughout the garden

including the bunting! Regular readers of this blog may remember that I made some bunting for this exhibition (see this post for one of the leaves I made). The photo below shows both my leaves at the two sides with other people's leaves in between.

It was lovely to see the variety of leaf designs that people had made

Most of the arts were made by Cass of Bookbinding with Cass or by people who have attended her events. Cass is committed to using upcycled and natural materials in her crafts.

Granton Walled Gardens are open to the public the first Saturday of every month or you can get involved as a volunteer. They also run a range of activities including crafting workshops - you can find out more about how to volunteer and get involved here.