Inverness garden's events week to bloom again after this year's success

FROM painting to photography to snakes and spiders, an innovative week-long series of events at Oldtown of Leys Garden, Inverness, has proved such a success that a further project is to be introduced next spring.

Inverness woman Anne Sutherland dreamed up the events launch with head gardener Fiona Mackenzie, focusing on the splendid gardens which are open to the public and have raised £30,000 for charity since completion 18 years ago.

“The garden was busier than ever last year when we reopened in July after lockdown,” Mrs Sutherland said. “As we have a marquee available from past open days, the idea was to go further and use it to stage the Oldtown of Leys Garden Week of Events.

“The feedback from the various events has been extremely positive and we’ve decided to run a second series next April. ”

Topics included growing flowers for cutting or drying, sustainable gardening, “think health-think nature”, garden and nature photography, landscape painting, beekeeping, Scottish exotic animal rescue, and, for children, fantastic minibeasts and how to find them.

Mrs Sutherland said the events week had raised several hundred pounds under Scotland’s Gardens Scheme for Highland Hospice and Alzheimer Scotland.

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