We are close to completion with our plans to develop the curling rink area (at the Craiglockhart Terrace entrance to the woods) into a friendlier space for community use. You can forage for apples and plums from the mini-orchard. The perennial plants and grasses are flourishing in the wildflower meadow. Our play structures (all made from living willow or recycled timber) have been a great hit with the little ones. Despite the awful weather and a few midges, we play pétanque with enthusiasm on Tuesday evenings.
This month, we have installed a raised bed and a planter bench. We will plant native herbs (mint, thyme, marjoram and wild garlic) in the raised bed and folk will be welcome to cut a handful to add flavour to their cooking. The planter bench faces south-west so will be sunny if and when there is ever any sun. The bench and the raised bed were assembled by a heroic team of volunteers from our Committee – Lindsay Sneddon, John Forbes, Jane McLaren, Graeme Hastie, Hilda Henderson and Ewan Davidson. Special mention to the excellent Alex Stuart from Shandon who made the mistake of wandering past and was press-ganged into service. The planter bench involved 115 pieces of wood held in place by 330 plastic dowels. Some intransigent pieces of this giant Lego construction were reluctant to fit into their allocated slot and required vigorous persuasion with large hammers. We think the rough-hewn rustic appearance of the bench and the raised bed looks good in a woodland setting. Pictured above are some of the rough-hewn rustic labourers.