Seeds planted for Hawick community garden

A “magnificent” 47 square meter greenhouse in the walled garden of Hawick’s largest public park is the major focus of a community garden that will produce vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruit for volunteer gardeners.

The greenhouse, complete with cold frames is at Wilton Lodge Park and has been designed, built and erected by Griffin Glasshouses from Ropley in Hampshire.

“It is a magnificent piece of engineering and a sheer delight to work in,” said Lisa Brydon, the Community Greenspace Officer (gardening and food production) for Scottish Borders Council, who is responsible for the running of the greenhouse.

The glasshouse replaces an old aluminium-framed greenhouse, that had become very run down and dilapidated.

The 30 volunteers for whom Lisa is responsible are busy getting ready for the first planting and growing season in the greenhouse, which was completed last year.

“It is now a hive of activity and for the first time we have cold frames, allowing us to harden off plants before they are put out into the garden,” added Lisa.

Linda Lane, managing director of the family-owned and managed Griffin Glasshouses, says that the size of the greenhouse meant that structural engineers had to sign off the design and the final building.

She said: “Any structure over 30 square metres in Scotland has to have this, but everything went very smoothly and the greenhouse is now a focal point in the walled garden and a great asset for the community.”