WATCH: Four local sites revealed for the Unexpected Garden project being hosted by Lyth Arts Centre
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
John O'Groats, Lybster, Wick and Thurso are to be the Caithness venues for the Unexpected Gardens project which is taking place around Scotland this summer.
Hosted by Lyth Arts Centre the event is part of the Dandelion programme teaching communities about the art and value of growing food and other plants.
The garden will travel in a curtain-sider trailer converted into an innovative growing space and will tour across Caithness starting at John O'Groats – Saturday, May 28 to Saturday, June 18. Lybster (Tuesday, June 21 to Sunday, July 10), will be next in line to get a visit from the garden, followed by the Rosebank, Wick (Friday, July 15, to Saturday, August 13) and ending in Thurso (Tuesday, August 16 to Sunday, September 11).
On arrival at each site, the raised beds and planters will roll off the trailer to create a garden and audience area. The trailer will become a performance and workshop space, offering seating and integrated lighting/electricals allowing the gardens to be brought into the heart of each community. Each site will also offer the chance to ‘dig in’ and create more permanent planting in.
Emerging creative producer for the local project Lauren Miller explained that the garden, currently still in its early stages of programming, will exists for the communities it visits to utilise however they wish. As well as creating workshops and other activities on each site she hopes to encourage local groups of any size to let her know how the project could benefit them.
She said: "I'm extremely encouraging of local groups to come to me and tell me how it would benefit their group/local community and I will do my best to facilitate whatever that may be."
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.
More details on can be found on the Lyth Arts Centre website and the Unexpected Gardens page of the Dandelion website.
Related story: Edible gardens set to take root in unexpected bits of land in Caithness
