Eco Drama staff member Suzanne (left) with Townhead Community Garden and Orchard volunteer Maggie holding the new pack (right).
This week we paid a special visit to Townhead Community Orchard to deliver something we’ve been quietly working away on – a brand-new Apple Varieties Information Pack and Map.
The pack is designed to make the orchard even more accessible for everyone who enjoys it. It’s now much easier to identify the trees, learn about their uniqueness, and discover what each fruit is best for, whether that’s cooking, baking, making sauces, or simply biting into a crisp, tangy apple straight from the tree. Of course, we couldn’t resist slipping in a wee Clydeside poem too! One copy will be kept in Townhead Village Hall, so anyone can pop in, browse, and find out more about this wonderful community space.
The orchard has grown beautifully over the years, and now boasts 45 trees, with 28 producing strong crops of apples, pears and plums – many of them rare heritage varieties you wouldn’t normally find on a supermarket shelves. Volunteers told us the plums have been especially popular this year, with most already harvested and enjoyed by members of the Townhead Village Hall Friendship Group. Fittingly, that all happened just in time for National Plum Day on Saturday 23rd August!
September is shaping up to be apple season, with different varieties ripening at different times. Any fruit that falls or is past its best never goes to waste, it’s gathered up and added to the community garden’s compost, helping to nourish future harvests.
It’s clear the volunteers have been busy. Since our last visit, the orchard and garden have blossomed with fresh flowers, newly painted planters, and even spruced-up lamps, making the space more welcoming than ever. We’re looking forward to heading back in winter to lend a hand with pruning, some of the trees, first planted 12 years ago, are now reaching quite an impressive size!
If you’d like to be part of this brilliant initiative, Townhead Village Hall is always on the lookout for volunteers to lend a hand in the garden and orchard. You can get in touch by emailing admin@townheadvillagehall.org.uk or phoning 0141 212 0046 (If phoning, between the hours of 9-5 Mon–Fri).
