Pandas in Scotland

Open Gardens You know the joke currently doing the rounds? There are more Pandas in Scotland than Tory MPs.

Following the recent publicity about the two in Edinburgh zoo I was not too surprised to see they had inspired a quirky installation in the garden of Sheila and Murray Airth when they opened to the public this afternoon.

Murray and Sheila belong to Scotland's Open Gardens scheme and they are the first in our area, central Scotland, to open.

I understand in England there is fierce competition to get into this scheme, which raises money for charity, and you go through a tough vetting process.

Not so in Scotland where a much more relaxed attitude exists.

The Scots are naturally reticent and it takes a great deal of persuasion to get any of them to open up their gardens and if they finally agree then you can be certain it will be to a very high standard.

There has been a move in recent years to encourage small gardens to participate and now many villages and small towns do so turning it into more of a community event.

A visit to Sheila and Murrays garden is as much a social occasion as an opportunity to see their big south facing terraced garden and of course the highlights are the plant stall, teas provided by the Lecropt church and the chance to see old friends again.


More photos in blipfoto folio "gardens".