Herb gardeners win the turf war

ITS green turf was once dug up for victory but today it is being used for bay, thyme and lavender.

A team of award-winning gardeners are putting the finishing touches on a new herb garden in the grounds of the National Galleries of Scotland at the east end of Princes Street Gardens.

It is the first time the gardens have been used to grow edible produce since the Second World War, when a section was turned into an allotment to grow vegetables at the height of the wartime Dig For Victory campaign.

The garden has been designed by a team of graduates from the Scottish Agricultural College who recently won a silver medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The team includes 63-year-old New Town resident Calum Buchanan, former owner of Merz art gallery on Broughton Street, who recently decided to retrain as a garden designer in the hope of fulfilling his ambition of creating a new art and agriculture space in the city.

He said: "We were delighted to be asked to design the herb garden for the galleries, and everything is coming together nicely.

"We've planted fennel, bay, lavender, sage, marjoram, thyme, lemon balm, tarragon and oregano, to name but a few, and everyone who's seen it so far has been really impressed."

Mr Buchanan's Merz gallery closed around three years ago, and ironically the unit is now occupied by the Narcissus flower shop.

The herb garden was the brainchild of Carina Contini, owner of renowned city restaurants Centotre and Zanzero, who also runs the Galleries' Scottish Cafe & Restaurant which overlooks the gardens.

She said: "It's a very special project to be able to work on. It's also a very good way for us to highlight our approach to food and our philosophy.

"We buy direct from our producers and not through distributors. We buy local organic vegetables and fruit. Peelham farm for lamb and mince, Harvest Cold Pressed Rape Seed Oil, Scottish water fish and local dairy.

"By growing our own herbs hopefully we can highlight our celebration of our producers and show how special the produce that's grown in Scotland is."

Meanwhile, National Galleries have just applied to install a new set of decorative handrails and ornate railings on the front of the building. .

However, a National Galleries spokesman said they have no record of any falls on the gallery steps in recent years.