Unexpected Garden: Edinburgh

About

Situated to the north west of Edinburgh city centre, this Unexpected Garden is based in a truly remarkable location. Lauriston Farm is neighbour to Lauriston Castle, with dramatic views of the North Sea, surrounded by the communities of Silverknowes, Muirhouse and Cramond. A small mound has been landscaped into a gentle amphitheatre, filled with coastal planting and wild crop relatives, that gives a vantage point from which to take in the 100 acres of Lauriston Farm, where Edinburgh Agroecology Cooperative worked hard and transformed empty fields, made plots for community allotments, created wildflower meadows and planted over 9,000 trees. A welcoming place to gather amidst this evolving setting, the Unexpected Garden features an earthen event and workshop space, built over the summer, where people helped create large-scale puppets, banners and costumes celebrating the local community, food production and biodiversity. Culminating in a musical procession - supported by North Edinburgh Arts - at a harvest event held in September 2022.