Rattray Community Garden

Purchased for the town in 2021 thanks to support from the Scottish Land Fund, Rattray Community Garden is based in what used to be a walled garden for Mount Ericht House.

It has been a home for award-winning environmental group Blairgowrie and Rattray in Bloom for a number of years, and when the opportunity came up to buy the land, the site was secured as a community asset with support from Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust.

The purchase and redevelopment of the community garden was highlighted as something local people wanted as part of an extensive consultation exercise carried out in 2020.

Those behind the redevelopment of the community garden, which has recently been granted a further £60,000 from the Scottish Government’s Shovel Ready fund, are now working to provide a safe and secure environment for people of all ages and to make a positive difference to the town.

The aim is to create a welcoming, relaxing area where local groups can meet, supporting their health and wellbeing, reducing social isolation, developing gardening skills, and observing wildlife.

It will also help facilitate intergenerational activity and educational sessions, reduce food poverty by developing and maintaining an area - including raised beds - to grow fruit and vegetables for those in need, and increase biodiversity with careful management and planting.

Establishing a hub for food production, education and wellbeing, while contributing to efforts to achieve net zero, improve the environmental sustainability of the town and support the work done by Blair in Bloom, will benefit the whole community.