COMMUNITY GARDENING
Bob Russell, a gardening enthusiast, known locally as Blooming Bob, tells us more about the work and ethos of this dedicated group of volunteers.
We would be lying to say that it has been an easy journey, far from it, but nothing worth achieving should be easy. Our ethos, which has also been an evolving one, can be described in simple but powerful terms: we grow veg, we grow fruit, we grow flowers, but we also grow people.
Perhaps that last part was the least expected when we started but is the most satisfying. We grow vegetables that are good for your health, we grow flowers that are good for your soul, and we grow people which is good for everyone.
Blooming Inverkip was established when the local Inverkip Community Hub, built in 2016, suggested that having a gardening group might be a promising idea. But a lack of direction, finance, and more importantly volunteers, meant it was a few more years before the work of the group really got off the ground.
Seeing the potential in the space and having just completed the RHS Level 2 in The Principles of Horticulture with RBGE, my wife Fiona and I sought assistance from friends and residents to get a feel for what may be possible and practical, even if that was just to brighten up the four old planters, which we did.
The next bold thing we did was to enter a 2m x 2m garden at Gardening Scotland in June 2019 and with only 5 weeks’ preparation time, a total lack of experience, but a sense of wanting to make our community proud, we presented our Slimming World Transformation Butterfly Garden and, amazingly, achieved a RHS Silver Gilt award. It was at this point we knew that as a team we were on to something.
The plants used were transported back to Inverkip Community Hub and planted on site just outside the Hub where they are now well established, changing our gardening lives forever.
We have slowly worked our way around the site at Inverkip creating themed gardens and holding community-based events and have evolved into a community-focused garden that in 2025, is thriving.
Each area of the current garden has evolved from a spark of an idea and developed through the challenges of Covid, weather, finances, volunteer shortages, watering difficulties, bureaucracy, storage issues, internal disagreement, and other factors. That initial spark of achievement though and team spirit have overcome all obstacles and challenges put in our way.
We currently have eight distinct areas of the garden each with their own story. An example may be our vegetable beds, which we created to grow vegetables for the community at the beginning of the first lockdown period, and this space has been further developed in recent years. We now have easier access for people with mobility issues, have created a windbreak due to the exposed location and are experimenting with solar panel energy collection on our shed to pump collected rainwater from water butts to the raised beds. This area has been taken under the wing of Archie, known as Papa Veg, who has created annual plans for rotating veg, which varieties to try, and suggestions for exploring environmental pest controls.
Other areas include a composting area, The Star Garden for Key Workers, The Jubilee Garden, The Orchard, The Faraway Corner, Laura’s Border, and the Contemplation Garden. Each of these areas started from that initial spark of inspiration - some were horticultural projects but some had deeper, personal meanings to group members.
Bob’s Top Tips for Community Gardening Groups
Keep a photo or video diary - we are always amazed by the changes that have taken place but also enjoy the nostalgia of looking back on previous times and events in the garden.
Work within your limits - we sometimes forget that we are a small team with limited resources. It is always tempting to become more ambitious and expand more but taking on too much also leads to more watering, for example, more responsibility, and sometimes a more stressful experience.
If things become too much, too stressful, too physically demanding, too much of a chore, or too serious, this can be very detrimental and often leads to a decrease in volunteers and eventual disbanding of groups.
Know Your Role - we have evolved via experience rather than some sort of top down template or what someone else thinks a community garden should be. Individuality as a group is key so always be yourselves and make your own mould rather than conforming to anything determined elsewhere.
Blooming Inverkip enrolled with Keep Scotland Beautiful’s ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ campaign in 2019 and have been part of this ever since. The initial support and suggestions from assessors were beneficial and the recognition was a boost to group members. It cannot be understated the importance of recognition to groups of their hard work on an annual basis.
Blooming Inverkip was surprised and shocked but also delighted to be nominated for a Horticultural Group Award by the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and attended the RBGE in March to accept this award.
Being recognised from organisations like the RHS, KSB, and The Caley gives us a sense of achievement, and both the personal and group satisfaction is very beneficial and motivational in inspiring our team, injecting a sense of pride, reinforcing our achievements, and expressing gratitude for what we do.
It is of benefit to individual members to know that they are part of and often integral to something that is being recognised and appreciated, and that their time and hard work has paid off.
The garden is a garden but for those involved, there is a sense of attachment to the garden: it is a bank of memories of times, people, and moments.
“Blooming Inverkip has been such a blessing to me, it has been a joy to be a part of. The activities we do are varied and interesting. It’s therapeutic and I always feel bolstered by being amongst plants and flowers as well as the team working together to create the beautiful displays that are Blooming Inverkip.”
The change and development of the volunteers involved whether physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally is not lost on us, and the shared experience of community gardening is perhaps one of the biggest strengths commented on by our volunteers.
“I really value joining in and bringing my daughters when I am so new to the village. With health issues, it’s been hard to meet people and Blooming Inverkip has been a great group to do what I can in the garden while making a few buddies. I look forward to weekends knowing I am safe and will be amongst friends.”
A bit of friendly banter goes a long way, and a bit of a laugh helps to create a friendly environment where people can relax and do not fear being judged.
Everyone is equal. Everyone has something they can contribute, and, in some cases, hidden talents are often discovered.
Our outreach within our community with events like the Spud Bucket Challenge, Bulb giveaways, Design a Planter, and many others normally have a quirky twist and we especially enjoy our community partnerships with other local and not so local gardening projects where we can share ideas, experiences, and advice.
We have engaged with corporate volunteering groups, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, the King’s Award for Boys/Girl Brigade and equivalents, and we will continue to explore mutually beneficial opportunities like this within our scope.
Our partnership with Inverkip Primary School sees us work every year with the Primary 2 class over a number of interactions, whether they visit our garden or we visit the school. By doing this, every pupil that moves through the primary school will have done so with some knowledge and experience of the life cycle of bulbs or vegetables, and have the experience of having their hands in the soil and learning about gardening.
This is where future community gardeners and horticulturists are going to come from, and we hope we have sown seeds to encourage that.
The class this year entered their first ever pallet garden to the Scottish Gardeners’ Forum Pallet & Planter Challenge at Scone Place Garden Fair with assistance from Blooming Inverkip as a community partner.
The last few years have taught us that there is an annual rhythm to what we do that is now familiar: bulb planting, cutting back, maintenance, and watering routines which provide some structure. Additional events, partnerships, and projects that develop during the year can then be integrated into that structure.
We sometimes discuss what our plans are moving ahead but sometimes going with the flow is more exciting. We have generic plans about having an indoor growing facility to expand our season and to be able to propagate as well as educate, but these things are expensive and time consuming, and nothing happens overnight.
We think, in retrospect, the major benefits when having a look at our group through the looking glass are watching the enduring friendships that slowly develop over the years between people that become part of the group, garden or no garden.
Gardening is fun, should always be fun, and should be enjoyable for everyone. If this is not the case then you are missing out, and to a degree missing the point.
As we say, we grow veg, we grow fruit, we grow flowers, but we grow friendships and hence, grow people. That is not too bad a legacy for a wee community group who initially wanted to brighten up a few rotten old planters.
Blooming Inverkip meet on a Saturday morning from 10am to 1pm, and can be contacted via their Facebook Page.
If you would like to see your community gardening group featured in a future edition of Scotland Grows magazine, please do get in touch to mail@scotlandgrowsmagazine.com - we would love to hear from you!