Thank you to Lucy Ribchester for a stimulating workshop! She encouraged us to imagine the Meadows in past times, so here goes... So, here's Dr Blake, letting himself out out of his house and walking up the High Street at 3am. It's summer and the dawn is lighting. He raises his top hat to a … Continue reading Imagining…
She writes: I have found community by volunteering in the Meadows Community Garden. Sarah Tolley is a coordinator there, part of the Greening Our Street initiative. She said: "We let our spring flowers grow to benefit early insect life. We can also use dandelions to make tea, wine, salad, pesto etc. Insects are rapidly disappearing … Continue reading Patty’s article in GroundsWell magazine (Autumn 2023, excerpt)
Gluten free recipe - perfect for picnics! Ingredients: 2 Cups (240g) Tapioca starch (Tapioca starch or flour can be bought at Chinese supermarkets. It's also sold in Tesco, in the international shelves -South American / Brasil - and it's called Sweet Cassava); 150ml Milk; 1 egg; 2 Tablespoons Butter (30g); 2 Cups Mature cheddar cheese … Continue reading Cheesy bread balls (Chipá)
We are looking forward to the creative writing session on 16 March (12noon to 2pm) led by Lucy Ribchester, who is an award-winning historical novelist. Lucy will invite us to imagine the Meadows and its inhabitants in past ages... And what stories they might tell! We'll have two hours to flex our creative muscles at … Continue reading Deep time at the community garden
With stormy weather starting in January, we can expect quite a few fallen trees by the end of March... Timber is a great resource for the community garden, and our first compost area was created eight years ago by Jenny. She dragged huge fallen branches across the Meadows to the garden, and used them to … Continue reading Storms and fallen trees
Many thanks to Caroline Wiygul for sharing the results of her MA research into this pertinent subject. She finds that: "Neighbourhood social cohesion has been shown to improve mental wellbeing and enable communities to manage common resources, making it a relevant subject for public health practitioners, urban designers, and organisers alike... Community gardens develop all … Continue reading Social cohesion and governance in Edinburgh community gardens
After the snow came the rain, just in time for our Christmas party, which Tricia organised again. It was a treat to gather and sip mulled wine, and mull over our gardening efforts during the past year. Planting fruit trees has been a major achievement, and we're very grateful for the memorial plum tree planted … Continue reading Merry Christmas!
28 September 2022 : We partnered with the Eric Liddell gardening project, and Fiona Brown brought learners to the garden on Wednesdays to study plants, and some of our members came along too.10 October : Young people from St Thomas Aquin High School came to plant bulbs in our new wildflower bed5 November : We … Continue reading AGM 2023 Annual Report
Herwig was delighted to meet a group of musicians at the community garden on a Sunday evening that was bathed in autumnal sunshine. "Yesterday, as the glorious sun was setting, I replenished our library with donations from a charity shop. There I met this group enjoying the Community Garden. I asked to take a photo. … Continue reading Musicians welcome!
It's getting colder, at last, so Bernadette treated us to a pot of delicious noodles. We also shared apples from a local orchard, and a large bag of buns donated by a local bakery. Not every Saturday is so bountiful, but we are ready to share even the smallest harvest! That's only right, given the … Continue reading Our sharing ethos
On Saturday 16 September we were invaded by members of the Tool Library who turned up with loads of wood and wonderful power tools. They spent all day prepping the wood and it was fun helping cut it to size. Our community garden team provided lunch, and by 4pm the project was complete: two new … Continue reading Tooligans ahoy!
Mindful Exploration of the Meadows Community Garden (August 23) Fi Brown, therapeutic horticulturalist, tells us about her group visits to the garden: The Eric Liddell Community (ELC) runs a regular wellbeing walk with a focus on nature and local history from their hub at Holy Corner. One of the most successful walks was to The … Continue reading Eric Liddell Community’s
Saving the world, one Stitch at a time...
Many thanks to Jeff Rogers, a Climate Reality Leader, for his talk entitled ‘Scotland’s Energy Transition: Winners and Losers’ to the Meadows Community Garden Group on our Environment Day, 12th August 2023. The talk addressed the paradox of Scotland’s ambition for ‘Net Zero 2045’ with the increasing difficulties of adapting to climate change. Jeff offered … Continue reading Scotland’s energy transmission
Workshop on reducing carbon output followed by picnic and activities. We have two gazebos and look forward to seeing you!
Benet Haughton writes about painting gardens and his forthcoming exhibition: "I have called this show Correspondences. It began with 7 works that play directly with the idea of correspondences between one half of the work and the other. These are the book-like ones. There are some that also arise from my interest in layers and … Continue reading Correspondences
On Saturday July 22nd was our Art in the Park art exhibition and bake sale for the community garden. Artists within the community brought a wide array of mediums to the garden on the day, including sketches, paintings, bird boxes, and more. While it was a rainy day, visitors and volunteers made the most of … Continue reading Art in the Park
We love artists and welcome individuals and groups who are inspired to create art in the community garden! This year, Tara is organising another Pop Up Art Show to celebrate local talent. You can display your art in the community garden, and enjoy seeing all the other artworks. Art will be sold on a what … Continue reading Pop up art show!
Every year we mark Refugee Festival Edinburgh at the Community Garden. This year, we decided to make Hearts for Hope. It was a lovely, gusty, day, and Patty brought wool and hooks to show us how to make hearts to pin on our T-shirts, to show we care! Paints and paper were available, too, and … Continue reading Showing we care
We couldn't let the occasion pass without putting on our own coronation, for our Queen of the May! Our volunteers contributed a floral crown and robes and it took a few minutes to get ready. Then, at noon, our Queen was crowned and greeted with poetry: "Hail, bounteous May that dost inspire Mirth, and youth, … Continue reading Crowning…
What a lovely day for our planning meeting on Saturday! Every year we gather to look ahead. We discuss our planting scheme, the flowers and vegetables that we're sowing and put in requests. Then we check dates with the people who are organising activities and garden events throughout the year. This helps give a conceptual … Continue reading Planning
This is a traditional Argentinean dessert eaten on Sunday Easter. The wreath represents the love and friendship that unites people. It also represents family unity and the concept of continuity, of starting over each year as an eternal rebirth. Ingredients: Starter15 gr of dry yeast70 ml of water2 tablespoons of flour1 teaspoon of sugarMix with … Continue reading Easter wreath
This winter helped by a grant from Action Earth we have been giving our compost on the Meadows Community Garden a makeover. A quantity of willow which was surplus to requirements at a local school garden has been used to weave a new boundary to the compost area. We have also created compartment areas to … Continue reading Compost Makeover
Our members worry about food security, and there are no allotments for locals who want to grow food. The lack of allotments is truly concerning, as Robert explains: "Gardening in the city has never been more popular; and its benefits, such as contact with nature, fresh air and exercise, food security, and self-reliance, have never … Continue reading Allot to be desired
We are so pleased that Action Earth is supporting our community garden winter projects: it's the right time rebuild our compost corner, plant a new hedge and develop our growing area so we can improve biodiversity. Rain can slow things down, but we generally keep going regardless. It's a real boon to have outdoor projects … Continue reading Volunteering Matters
We at the community garden raise our mugs to Christmas cheer and will reconvene on 7 January 2023. We have projects to complete and seeds to sow ... another year of growing adventures and community actions!
It's snowy, it's cold. But it's beautiful as well. Crisp, fresh and sparkly air! A chance for dressing up in woolly hats and gloves. Throwing snowballs and building snowmen It also means there's less gardening to be done as all is dormant. But it's been an active year so what better time to pause and … Continue reading Christmas party
...and Lavender, Marjoram and Oregano.All growing in our Meadows Community Garden herb plot!Too cold for Basil right now so we’ll leave that little beauty until Spring.We have some medicinal herbs too – kindly donated by a Medical Herbalist – they’re all bedded in for the Winter and we’re looking forward to watching them grow and … Continue reading Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme…
Food sharing is an integral part of our community ethos. We are happy to share our produce and grateful when we have an opportunity to pick apples, or grow veg in the neighborhood. Food sharing is also integral to the Shrub, which rescues food and runs on a pay as you feel basis. We have … Continue reading Sharing is key
It's always a pleasure when young volunteers turn up at the community garden and we're ready to provide activities to suit different interests, including Duke of Edinburgh candidates. So it's especially heartening to have twelve young people from St Thomas Acquin high school come forward to plant bulbs and maintain our wildflower beds. Come the … Continue reading Young helpers
Ingredients 300g plain flour (sieved) 175g sugar (brown or caster sugar) 200g butter at room temperature, cubed For the filling 450-500g apples, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces50g sugar (brown or caster sugar)1 tbsp plain flour1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional) Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. 2. Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. … Continue reading Apple Crumble
https://app.vyond.com/videos/72bea70e-8205-4e20-bb99-db4b9a6815c3 We're always delighted to welcome researchers at the community garden, and Amelia Holmes has made a video about her findings. It's about 5 minutes long and worth every second! School children helping water our new orchard; the trees were planted by a team from a local office, on behalf of Trees for Cities: community … Continue reading A commons approach
I've come to the garden for just over one year now and last Saturday, it's struck me how much it's expanded in that fairly short time. So I asked Sarah how it was when it all started as I was curious to see the evolution. Here is a little trip down memory lane and a … Continue reading Our community garden over the years
Our aim in establishing our community garden is to promote biodiversity: we have berry bushes for birds and a sunny border for bees. We grow wildflowers and a variety of fruit trees in our orchard. It's lovely to see insects buzzing around the flowers... Of course, we enjoyed a honeymoon period at the start. It … Continue reading Biodiversity – and the rest!
Back in March, a distressed Ukrainian woman gave us some sunflower seeds. Of course we grew them on, and you can see four Ukrainian sunflowers now going to seed, in the community garden. As a Garden of Sanctuary, this space offers a welcome to all who are distressed and displaced. Caring for plants is consoling … Continue reading All Welcome
Many parts of Scotland are suffering water shortages and crop failures. Climate change means thinking hard about growing plants that can stand up to unusual hot and dry weather. At the community garden, the lack of a water supply means our plants are always short of water, so this year was particularly difficult. Our tender … Continue reading Drought in a teacup
We are so pleased that Jean-Matthieu Gaunand came to our Environment Day to run a Climate Conversation. It was interesting to see how he got us all talking about climate change and helped give us a new sense of purpose. You can contact Scottish Communities Climate Action Network to arrange a Climate Conversation for your … Continue reading Let’s talk climate
We had a great time at our Environment Day, with Elizabeth Rimmer. She kindly travelled to Edinburgh to talk about poetry, colours and dyes, and language and translation. She finished by reading her Writing the Rainbow poems to us. Everyone at the workshop was encouraged to look at the plants intently and jot some reflections … Continue reading Rainbows
Every summer we choose a theme for our Environment Day, and this year the theme is obvious: Art and Science! That's because poet Elizabeth Rimmer is going to kick off with a creative writing session at 12noon. So bring a sandwich to nibble while those creative juices are flowing. Then we've got Jean-Matthieu to lead … Continue reading Environment Day
Art in the Park 2022, Meadows Community Garden We kicked off the second Art in the Park event at the community garden on Saturday July 9th. We aimed to have more artists than the previous year, which we definitely achieved with the garden being splashed with colour and a variety of media types. The boundaries … Continue reading Art in the Park 2022
We have been harvesting our wildflower seeds early this year. Normally we would start harvesting in late August, but it has been so dry this year some of the seeds are ready now. We collected red campion, lots of poppy, oxeye daisy, pot marigold and some crucifers (not sure whether they will grow, as they … Continue reading Early seed collecting
The Republic of Cuba lies in the south of the Tropic of Cancer and has tropical climate with the Caribbean current giving it warm sea water from the equator. Temperature can vary from average of 21 °C in January to 27 °C in July, although it was warmer when we were there in mid-June. The warm temperatures … Continue reading Impressions of Cuba through its flora and fauna
What Matters and Who Matters in Green Space Design, by Amelia HolmesOver the past few months, as part of my dissertation for my Ecological Economics Master’s Programme, I have been planning and carrying out research on the Meadows – what it means to people, what it provides nature, and how it brings us all together … Continue reading Investigating the Multiple Values of the Meadows
Ingredients (serves 4) ⦁ 2tbsp butter, margarine or olive oil⦁ 2 onions⦁ 450 g butternut squash peeled, seeded and cubed⦁ 225g potatoes, cubed⦁ 1.2 liters water⦁ 1 tsp paprika ⦁ Salt and Pepper (to taste)⦁ 120 ml cream (optional)⦁ 2 tbsp chopped chives (optional) Preparation - Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions and … Continue reading Butternut Squash Soup
The community garden looks lovely in June, perfect for participating in the Refugee Festival, which celebrates diversity and New Scots. This year we offered visitors the opportunity to make sun prints of leaves and flowers that they picked in the garden... And we listened to Agatha telling African stories. Gentle moments of shared pleasure, on … Continue reading Refugee Festival
Summer 2022 brought us great news! On June 1st Volunteer Edinburgh celebrated the amazing contribution that volunteers make at their annual Inspiring Volunteer Awards ceremony at the City Chambers and Meadows Community Garden got the Inspiring Volunteer Awards for outstanding volunteering in the Team category! Robert Aldridge, Rt. Hon. Lord Provost of The City of … Continue reading Congratulations! Our team has been selected to receive the Inspiring Volunteer Award!
https://www.refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk/events/the-healing-power-of-plants/ Last year, we held a picnic at the community garden for Syrian families. This year, we're running a drop-in event, on 18 June from 12noon to 4pm. Drop in to create a cyanotype artwork and listen to a story while it cures in the sun. Simple! We welcome you and your stories to the … Continue reading Refugee Festival
A big thank you to our energetic visitors who laid a path, cut a trench, and sowed dozens of seeds and wildflower plugs in the community garden and wildflower plots. Each sowing has its label so you can follow the progress of a particular wildflower. Like other flowers, they need water and care. You can … Continue reading Tiny wildflowers
This May, all the apple trees in our wee orchard have blossom. Even our crabapple has put out a fine show, and the new trees are snowy white too. Looking at the trees, one notes gradations of pink in among the white petals. Some trees put out pink buds which open into white flowers, and … Continue reading In praise of blossom
Ingredients: 2 potatoes 1 onion 1 garlic clove 1 small bell pepper 1 carrot 2 cup peas Optional: 2 tablespoons olive oil Preparation: In a blender, place 2 chopped potatoes, 1 chopped onion, 1 garlic clove, chopped bell pepper, 1 sliced carrot, 2 cups peas, and some water. Blend, add more water until it has the … Continue reading Pea Soup
Meadows Community Gardens 