6 THE HERALD MAGAZINE 27.06.09

SOWINGTHESEEDSOF

27.06.09 THE HERALD MAGAZINE 7

REVOLUTION It might not be Michelle Obama’s newWhite House kitchen garden, or theQueen’s newly dug allotment atBuckingham Palace, but a sorry-looking Georgian walled garden nearStirling is slowly coming back to life.Thirty years of neglect have decimatedits originalboxhedges, caused its 18th-century walls to crumble and coveredits acre of fertile soil in impenetrableturf –while, in thenearbyorchard,plum,pear,apple and cherry trees, some 100 years old,are overgrown and fruitless.Look beyond the decay, though, and it’s just

possible to spot the green shoots of recovery.Neat squares of dark brown earth are alreadybringing forthbeans,peas, beetroots,potatoes,carrots and herbs. Plastic bottle tops andnetting protect youngplants and it’s clear that,at long last, this beautiful old kitchen gardenis returning to its glorious past.“This used to be awonderful garden full of

seasonal produce and tended by a full-timegardener,” says Pippa Maclean. Quarter, thehouse in which she and her husband Robinlive, was built in 1753, and one high-profileformer owner was Betty Harvie Anderson,the former Conservative MP for Renfrews-hire East.“When I moved in three years ago it was

down at heel and in need of a lot of TLC, butwe simply couldn’t find anyone reliable tohelp us,” continues Maclean, who was borninto the family of Edmonstone of Duntreathand brought up in Duntreath Cast le atBlanefield,Stirlingshire.“Weweredesperate.”All that changed, however, when a friendsteered theMacleans towards Landshare, anonline project matching landowners withgrowers set up by the broadcaster, writerand food campa igner Hugh Fearnley -Whittingstall. Maclean posted an advertise-ment asking for growers, then sat back andcrossed hermuddy fingers.“I got 25 replies in the space of three

days,” she recalls. “And within another dayI’d met my four new collaborators. Now Ican’t imagine life without them. Landsharehas givenme the impetus to get this garden upand running again. They say it takes 10 yearsto make a garden, but I reckon we can do itin three.”Step forward Stenhousemuir postman

Kevin Doughty, 45, and his partner AltheaDavis, 37, along with Stirling immunologystudent Kirsty Robb, 26, and her partner,abattoir stocksman JohnMurie, also 26. Theyresponded to Maclean as potential growers,and are delighted to have been given theopportunity to work the ancient land atQuarter. Aptly, the walled garden has beendivided into four and each couple has a plot ofaround 100 square feet.“This is beyond our wildest dreams,” says

Doughty. He is a vegetarian and Davis, anenvironmental historian and archaeologist atStirlingUniversity, is vegan, so they are keento grow all their own vegetables organically.The growing space they have at home iscramped. “Whenwe signedup forLandshare,we thought we’d maybe be lucky to getsomeone’s council-house back garden totend. To get 100 square feet is every grower’sdream,” he says.Robb andMurie also have limited space at

home andhave been growing potatoes in bagsand carrots inwellington boots. “When I sawthis place I was absolutely gobsmacked, asit’s much bigger than we anticipated,” saysRobb. “It’s great to work alongside anothercouple becausewe can buddy each other at

Sharing land togrow food:whatcould besimpler?Evenasdemand forallotmentsoutstripssupply,a pioneeringschemecouldoffer freshhope

WordsbyCateDevine PhotographsbyKirstyAnderson

LandownerPippaMacleanwithgrowersKirstyRobbandKevinDoughty,and farmerHenryHarris.Thanks toLandshare, theyarerestoringafineGeorgiangarden to its formerglory

8 THE HERALD MAGAZINE 27.06.09

this initial stage, when there is so muchwork to do. Pippa is great, too, because shekeeps usmotivated.”Indeed, the six have become firm friends,

delighting in the knowledge that they wouldnothavemetwithoutLandshare. “Weweren’tintimidated by the house or garden, justsurprised,” saysDoughty. “We never knewthehouse even existed. The first thing friendsasked uswas, ‘Is it not a nightmare towork upthere?’ but we don’t think so. It’s a fantasticopportunity. Pippa is so enthusiastic but weall manage together.”They began work on their plots only last

month but already they havemade significantprogress. “Sincewe started late in the growingseason, our plan isnot to plant everything thisyear,” says Doughty. “Once the turf is alldug up, we’ll plant green manure to helprecondition the soil.”Horse, cow and slurry manure is being

supplied by Henry Harris from his organicfarm at neighbouring Wellsfield, while IvorScott, a stonemason, is repairing the wall.Mike Bisset, a professional fencer, willconstruct fruit cages for the new raspberryand strawberry plants.How did Maclean choose who to work

with? “I just got the vibes,” she replies cheer-fully. “I felt theywouldn’t have been serious ifthey hadn’t registered on the Landsharewebsite.” A detailed contract was signed byall parties,which states that no money can beexchanged between growers and landowners.TheMacleanswill receive 25%of the producegrown, and it will be used to feed family,friends and guests in theB&B businessPipparuns from the house. “It’s awin-win situationfor us all.”

Up the road in Inverness-shire, TimandWendyDearman’s ruralcottagegarden near Alness has threeneglected vegetable plots beingtended by computer engineer TomBusza, who lives in a flat above a pub in thecentre of Inverness. Once again, they foundeach other through Landshare.“The beds have been redundant for ages

because we’re so busy running our coachcompany,” explains Wendy. “We are on old,original croft-sized land situated near a riverwith woodland, so it’s a mild climate forgrowing. Having Tom has motivated me torepair and maintain the greenhouse. He’salready got one of the plots up and running,and has started clearing the docks andweedson the others. Brassicas and auberginesgrowing in the greenhouse are almost readyfor him to plant out.”Busza, 59, is also growing broad and runner

beans, leeks, onions, courgettes and sweet-corn, and plans potatoes for one of the plots.“I spend all day driving around the countryand sitting in front of computers, andgardening really getsme away from it all,” hesays. “I only have windowsills to grow on attheflat and it’s great tohave this space.There’sno mobile-phone signal here, which is anadded bonus.”Wendy is delightedwith the progress so far.

“More and more people are growing theirown vegetables, aswe all did during thewar,”she says. “People are gradually coming backto real food and cooking nice thingswith freshproduce, butwe still knowsome youngpeoplewho don’t know that peas are grown ingardens, not tins.”Landshare was launched by Fearnley-

Whittingstall as a solution to the problem ofBritain’s lack of allotments, on a rising tide ofenthusiasm for growing vegetables. Almost38,000 people have registered online already,and commentsposted on thewebsite testify to

the increasing desperation of would-begrowers, who outnumber landowners byapproximately two to one.Living in Stenhousemuir, Kevin Doughty

falls under theFalkirkCouncil area –which isunique in Scotland for having no allotments.Two years ago, he formed the FalkirkAllotment Society with the aim of changingthat, but has had little success. “We have 70people signed up and another 100 notes ofinterest, andwe hoped to put pressure on thecouncil, but nothing has happened yet,” hesays. “I’ve spent thepast two yearson commit-tees trying to persuade the council to releaseland, and yetwithin hourswithLandsharewegot our fantastic site just up the road.”InGlasgow, only 27%of the population has

access to a garden, yet in some areas of thecity there is a nine-year waiting list for anallotment, and the situation is similar inEdin-burgh.Glasgow has 24 allotment sites, trans-lating into 1320 plots; the most recent survey,in 2007, showed 652 people onwaiting lists.GlasgowCityCouncil’sAllotment Strategy

and Action Plan, approved on June 12, statesa commitment to improving allotment sitesand increasing their availability, but it alsoconcedes that new funding will have to befound. “We know how important allotmentsare in Glasgow and the contribution theymake to the health and wellbeing of the localcommunity.” says James McNally, executivemember ofLand andEnvironmental Services.In theGorbals area of the city, though, there

is just one allotment site: Oatlands LeisureGardens,whichhasbeenworking successfullysince the late 1980s. The council has given aproperty-development company a 99-yearlease on the surrounding land, for regenera-tion and the construction of luxury apart-ments.Aspartof theagreement, theallotmentsare to be moved to a smaller site, and thenumber of plots reduced from 20 to 14.When surrounding buildings were demol-

ished last year, the plots were exposed to theelements – and to vandalism. Greenhouseswere smashed, sheds were razed to theground, the storage area and clubhousewereburned out, tools were stolen and the poly-tunnel was ripped apart. Meanwhile, the

REALLIVES

move to the new site has been postponed,because of a slow-down in the regenerationprocess causedby thedownturn in thehousingmarket. “Allotment holders feel disheart-ened,” says Judy Wilkinson, secretary of theGlasgow Allotments Forum. “They feel thatwith the downturn in the housing market andthe increase in demand for allotments, theyshould not accept a smaller, new site butinstead should get anewsite in addition to theoriginal site.The evidence is all aroundus thatpeople are desperate for land to grow on.”Across town, a piece of green land inNorth

Kelvinside is also to be turned into housing.The council-owned disused space betweenClouston Street and Kelbourne Street – thearea of the former Clouston Street playingfields – is to be sold to propertydevelopers forthe creation of 115 flats and houses, for arumoured £10m-£12m. The land has never

Clockwise frommainpicture:PippaandRobinMacleanoutsideQuarter,their18th-centuryStirlingshirehome,where thegardenhasanew leaseof life;growerNickDoughty,who says thathavinglandat thehouse isbeyondhiswildestdreams; chefHughFearnley-Whittingstall, themanbehind thenewLandsharewebsitePHOTOGRAPH:PAULSTUART

27.06.09 THE HERALD MAGAZINE 9

Moreandmorepeoplearegrowingtheirownvegetables.Peoplearecomingbacktorealfood’

‘had housing on it, and a community campaignto turn it into amulti-use green space for thepeople ofMaryhillwas launched lastOctober.Some20 local families from surrounding tene-ments have established productive raisedbeds on the site, and a substantial communityorchard has been started.The council’s proposal for the redevelop-

ment of the area includes a small park, and aspokesman points out that capital from thesale of the site is being used to fund theconstruction of a new playing facility at thecorner ofQueenMargaretDrive andMaryhillRoad.DouglasPeacock, chairmanof theNorthKelvinside Green Space Initiative, doesn’tthink this is enough.“This landhas beendisused since the 1970s.

It’s a beautiful space, but the council allowedit to be used as informal dumping ground,” hesays. “We cleaned it up and turned it into a

10 THE HERALD MAGAZINE 27.06.09

community green space called the NorthKelvin Meadow. There is a shortage of allot-ments in Glasgow as a whole and there iscurrently only one very oversubscribed allot-mentground in theMaryhillandNorthKelvin-side area. The North Kelvin Meadow wouldprovidenewallotmentopportunities forpeopleliving in the local area.” An online petition tokeep the land as community space hasattracted signatures from more than 340supporters since itopenedon June3, includingthe authors LouiseWelsh andAlasdairGray.JimMackechnie, the councillor for the area,

has said: “I am afraid I do not believe allot-mentswould add to the amenityof the locality.Theywouldbevisuallyunattractive, andwouldoccupy land which I believe should be openand accessible to thepublic in order tomaxim-ise community benefit.” He tells The HeraldMagazine: “There is no trespass law in Scot-land, but trespassing is what these people aredoing. They should not be there.”Finalmissives are expected to be concluded

by the end of July, and although buildingwillnot start before 2011, residents are unclearabout when the new landowners will takepossession of the land. “The council saythey’re keen to maintain and improve theirallotment provision,” says Peacock. “But theproof of the pudding is the decision theymadeon this site, which we see as a test case fortheir allotment strategy.”KarenCheun,who lives nearby, is growing

cabbage, leeks, onions, carrots and corianderin a raisedbedon the space. “I’llbe completelygutted to be evicted from this site,” she says.“In the short time I’ve been living here it’shelped me meet my neighbours, and it’sbecome such a precious resource. It’s becomemore than just a piece of land; it’s a realcommunity focus.”Six new growers have joinedNorth Kelvin

Meadow through theLandsharewebsite, andnew raised beds and organic soil have beenordered for them. “We’re not stopping untilthe bulldozersmove in,” says Peacock.

V acant andderelict land andgap sitesare exactly what Eleanor Logan islooking for. The recently appointedheadofSage (Sow andGrowEvery-where) in Glasgow, her task is toidentify sites that can be transformed intocommunity growing spaces, and to solve someof the problems of producing food oncontaminated land and brownfield sites.The brainchild of the environmental arts

charityNVA, the imaginative project receivedthree-year funding from the city councilin April. Logan is undertaking a scopingstudy on behalf of the eight local authority

disusedbecause of the economicdownturn allhold potential for Sage. “People want to liveclose to where they grow their vegetables,”saysLogan.Theorganisationwill test contam-inated land – common in industrial cities suchas Glasgow – and make it safe for plantingbefore prepping it for production andhandingit over to growers.Logan does not see Sage reducing public

demand for allotments; rather, she sees it asgiving people the confidence to apply for aplot. “We’re still pushing formore allotmentsin Glasgow,” she says. “This project is abouthow land is utilised in an urban environmentand itwillbe interesting to see if it changes theway land is used in the future.”Last week, only 152 Scots appeared to have

registered with Landshare – although thatdoesn’t take into account names that mighthave been removed following a match.Fearnley-Whittingstall, though, remainsundaunted. “It could be better, but we havehad some really good matches,” he says.“One of the things we’ve noticed is that

people who grow food are also quite techno-logically savvy. They like to go online andtalk to each other about what they’ve beenplanting. Landshare is the ultimate embodi-ment of that: people use it to communicatewith each other. The idea is to continue andremodel the site.”The project is open-ended and there is no

deadline for registering. “We would neverwant it to end as long as it’s proving useful,”he says. “We want to create shorter waitingtimes for land, and for it tobecome a basic toolfor individuals, businesses and city councils touse to announce the release of land.”Through Landshare, theNational Trust has

offered 1000 plots – though none in Scotland– while the City of London wants to create2012 community growing sites in time for theOlympics andwilluseLandshare tohelp.Brit-ishWaterwayswill release hundreds,perhapsthousands, of plots through thewebsite.“It’s not about shaming landowners into

releasing land. It’smore about cajoling them,”says Fearnley-Whittingstall. “After all, if youallowpeople to grow on yourdisusedmidden,what’s theworst that can happen?” !

Visit landshare.channel4.com.

REALLIVES What’stheworstthatcanhappenifyouallowpeopletogrowonyourdisusedmidden?’

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areas within the Glasgow and Clyde ValleyGreen Network Partnership, whose partnersinclude Scottish Natural Heritage, theForestry Commission and regional councilrepresentatives.Her report will be publishedin September.In just onemonth she has already identified

10 potential sites in Glasgow – which, oncematched with growers, will be supplied witha growing toolkit including specially-designedgrow-boxes made from a range of materials.“It’s becoming very exciting,” she says. “I’mfinding more by the day and it’s a matter oftrying to hold back the rising tide. There’sbeen huge interest across the city, from East-erhouse to the south side.”Housing estates, backcourts and land

earmarked for development but currently

InGlasgow,KarenCheunandDouglasPeacockwant tokeepthe landknownasNorthKelvinMeadowas community spacewhere vegetablescanbegrown.Theybelieve the citycouncil could domuchmore in termsofallotmentprovisionPHOTOGRAPH:MARCTURNER