Alness set for emergence of 'unexpected garden' as trailblazing hook-up involving The Place, Blooming Gardeners and Feis Rois ready to blossom
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An edible garden is set to spring up in Alness thanks to a hook-up involving The Place and The Blooming Gardeners with Fèis Rois and creative programme Dandelion.
The Unexpected Garden will grow on land at Teaninich Industrial Estate in Alness.
Commissioned by EventScotland and funded via the Scottish Government, Dandelion is Scotland’s contribution to UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, a nationwide programme of creative events and engagement.
Driven by the concept of ‘Sow, Grow, Share’ – not just food but ideas, music, scientific knowledge, and community – Dandelion takes a unique approach to growing. Bringing together artists, scientists, performers, and technologists to present events and programmes throughout Scotland, including the Unexpected Gardens, Dandelion will culminate in hundreds of harvest celebrations later this year.
The Alness Unexpected Garden will transform the field on Teaninich Industrial Estate, dividing the 1.6 acres into woodland, growing space, a play area, and a stretch tent for performances and workshops. In collaboration with The Place, which provides support to hundreds of youngsters locally, and The Blooming Gardeners, which works with adults with learning disabilities to provide experience in horticulture, Dandelion’s latest Unexpected Garden will become a unique growing and learning space for the people of Alness to come together.
The growing space will include polytunnels and a garden of 25 beds. The Field will be growing a wide range of vegetables, salad, herbs and flowers using agroecological methods. The Alness Unexpected Garden will grow varieties of fruit and vegetables local to the area, including a tomato variety from Dingwall and a broad bean variety from the Black Isle. With social spaces carved out within, neighbours and visitors will be able to share food and get to know one another in the unique environment.
Led by local arts organisation, Fèis Rois, the garden will host a programme of events throughout the summer for the whole community to enjoy, which will culminate with a Harvest event and community meal in September.
Haley Shepherd, emerging creative producer at Fèis Rois, said: “We are really looking forward to working with The Place youth group and the Blooming Gardeners at the Field this summer. So far, we have been preparing the ground, building a polytunnel and are busy sowing seeds. Throughout the summer we will be growing tasty veggies and lots of seeds which we hope to share with the local community.”
Col Gordon, farmer and freelance project manager, said: “The garden’s primary focus will be to grow vegetable seeds. Seeds are small things but from them, big things can grow. They are one of the principle building blocks of any food system and food culture, but today an understanding of their importance, and the knowledge of how to care for them has been largely forgotten. As well as enabling folks in the community to get involved in the various stages of producing the seeds themselves, we hope the project will foster a desire and a vision for more community focused growing and food projects to happen in Alness and the wider area.”
Janette Douglas, co-ordinator at The Place: "Having Fèis Rois approach us to work together has just been the most amazing opportunity to develop our Field. The vision we had for the development was so similar to Dandelion’s that our partnership has proved seamless and it going to give many opportunities for young people to have fun and gain recognised qualifications. Dandelion is a visionary and timely enterprise in this time of austerity. The legacy of the project will benefit The Field and wider community for years to come.”
Haley Shepherd, emerging creative producer at Fèis Rois said: "We are really looking forward to working with The Place youth group and the Blooming Gardeners at the Field this summer. So far, we have been preparing the ground, building a polytunnel and are busy sowing seeds. Throughout the summer we will be growing tasty veggies and lots of seeds which we hope to share with the local community.”
Col Gordon, farmer and freelance project manager said: "The garden's primary focus will be to grow vegetable seeds. Seeds are small things but from them, big things can grow. They are one of the principle building blocks of any food system and food culture, but today an understanding of their importance, and the knowledge of how to care for them has been largely forgotten.
"As well as enabling folks in the community to get involved in the various stages of producing the seeds themselves, we hope the project will foster a desire and a vision for more community focused growing and food projects to happen in Alness and the wider area."
Fiona Dalgetty, chief executive of Fèis Rois and Dandelion’s futures director said: “Having been a member of the original bid team that devised Dandelion, it is amazing to see the project come to life in communities across Scotland.
"Fèis Rois has recently appointed Liam Ross from Invergordon to be Musician in Residence in the Alness Unexpected Garden and we look forward to announcing a programme of music making workshops and concerts for people of all ages to enjoy throughout the summer months.
"We are also delighted to have former Fèis Rois participant, Col Gordon, return to project manage our Unexpected Garden. In addition to his expertise as a seed researcher and farmer, Col is a musician in his own right. He has previously been a Fèis Rois tutor and Cèilidh Trail musician, and we hope to hear him perform in the garden this summer.”
Dandelion is one of 10 major creative projects commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, which is taking place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales in 2022.
For more information, see dandelion.scot
