Stirling Carers’ Garden
In April 2018 we secured an allotment in Bridge of Allan and work on ‘Stirling Carers’ Garden’ began. The vision is for a space where Carers can go to get away from it all, spend time outdoors, and get involved in growing fruit, vegetables and flowers.
The garden is a space created by Carers for Carers, with decisions about how the plot should look and what will be grown being made by the Carers who participate.
Stirling Carers’ Garden is located in the Cornton Road Allotments in Bridge of Allan, and is open for use by any Carer to take time out, or spend time with loved ones.
If you would like to get involved, either with the gardening or would just like to go along to enjoy the peace and quiet, contact the Centre on 01786 447003 or email info@stirlingcarers.co.uk
Updates from the Carers’ Garden
Our Young Carers Group returned to the garden to see the fruits (or vegetables) of their labours.
They collected 192 potatoes! Not bad at all, and apparently they made excellent leek & potato soup!
It has been over a year since we have been able to take any groups to the Carers’ Garden, but finally this week we have been able to take a small group of Young Carers down to plant potatoes, carrots and sunflowerst.
This was the Centre’s first in person activity since March 2020 and Young Carers staff were so happy to be back not only to what we love, but offering some much needed respite and support.
Everyone is looking forward to returning in the coming weeks to see how the plants have grown.
Huge thanks to Hilary from Stirling Carers Centre Board and her partner for showing us how to do all the planting!
We’d also like to thank the volunteers who have maintained the garden over the last year so that we have been able to keep the allotment going for when restrictions eased.
Over the past 18 months, a group of Carers has been working hard to get the garden up and running, taking it from a bare plot of land to a space where carers can take some time out and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.
During the last year there has been some great progress, with the addition of raised vegetable beds and a storage shed, thanks to Stirling Men’s Shed, and more recently a new bench was installed so we finally have somewhere to sit and put our feet up!
With the spring approaching we’re looking forward to seeing the bulbs breaking through and the garden springing to life again. This year we’re looking to transform part of the plot into a sensory garden, and harvest our first full vegetable crop.
We would love to have more people involved in the development of garden to help us create a relaxing space for local Carers and their loved ones. If you fancy coming down and helping with the springtime planting, pulling out some weeds, harvesting the crops or being involved in the discussions for the future of the space, all help would be gratefully received.
Tipp and the team at Stirling Men’s Shed have now put in four raised beds for us. This has made a big difference to the plot, enabling us to plant winter vegetables including kale, winter cabbages, garlic, and onions, as well as rhubarb. We have been kept busy picking all the lovely raspberries that grew over the summer, and keeping the weeds down with all the rain we had!
Carers involved in Stirling Carers’ Garden have been busy during the spring, preparing the garden and getting it ready for the summer. Raspberry canes, daffodils, bluebells and snowdrops have already been planted, and plans are being made for what vegetables we will be growing this year.
Thanks to the Postcode Local Trust we were able to purchase a shed which will store all our tools and equipment. We are very grateful to Tipp Maher and the volunteers at Stirling Men’s Shed who prepared the ground and put up the shed for us.
We are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £1,750 from Postcode Local Trust towards our Carers’ Garden project. We will be working with Carers to plan how the grant will be spent, including tools, equipment and plants to get the garden ready for the spring.
A group of six Carers has begun working on the allotment, clearing the space and preparing it for the winter. Initial designs have been drawn up of how the garden might look, and there are big plans including a sensory garden, raised vegetable beds, a seating area and a water feature! The first plants have gone in, including rhododendrons, hyssops and a gooseberry bush, and we’re hoping to get some bulbs in ready for the springtime.