Beautiful walled garden gets £2,200 funding boost

The Amisfield Walled Garden in Haddington, East Lothian, is a beautiful community garden managed by hundreds of volunteers at the Amisfield Preservation Trust. A wide cross-section of the community volunteer for the Trust (which was established in 1999), with the volunteers possessing a wide range of gardening experience. Working outdoors and in a team, whilst learning new skills, boosts their mental and physical well-being, whilst also preserving the garden and making it an incredible visitors destination in the local area.

One of the largest walled gardens in Scotland, Amisfield Walled Garden has many different areas, including: a sensory garden, hedge mazes, vegetables, and herbaceous borders around the edge which house many different plants and flowering species. Aside from these permanent areas, the Trust holds a myriad of events throughout the year (ranging from art exhibitions, workshops, and a Halloween Trail) where visitors can purchase goodies, refreshments, arts and crafts, and home baked goods. On the 24^th June 2023, they are holding the Amisfield Summer Event, where plants, fruits, and vegetables will be on sale.

Amisfield has a rich history and horticultural heritage which the Trust want to protect. Originally built in the 1780s to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to Amisfield House, the garden was used for cultivation until World War II. In the 1960s, the garden fell into a state of neglect following the demolishing of Amisfield House, however it has now been saved by the Trust and is a flourishing establishment for learning and enjoyment.

With the funding from Community Windpower, the Trust will purchase a large fruit cage to preserve the growing plants like raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, and redcurrants. The cage will prevent any fruit from being eaten by wildlife before it can be picked, and the cage will be large enough for the volunteers to undertake maintenance work on the plants such as pruning.

Anouska Woods, Community Coordinator at BeGreen Dunbar, said: “Amisfield Walled Garden is stunning, and it perfectly highlights the power of community coordination and team work. The volunteers and chairpersons of the Trust work incredible hard to make this a beautiful visitors destination all year round, and they provide an open and inclusive environment for people to learn a valuable new skill. We are excited to see how the garden will continue to develop with the purchasing of the fruit cage!”

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