TASTY fruit will be protected from wildlife at an historic walled garden thanks to a new donation.
Raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants are grown in Amisfield Walled Garden, on the outskirts of Haddington.
But volunteers at the garden, which is managed by Amisfield Preservation Trust, have noted wildlife nibbling at the produce.
Community Windpower has stepped in to provide more than £2,200 for the purchase of a large fruit cage.
The cage will prevent any fruit from being eaten by the wildlife before it can be picked.
The structure will also be large enough for the volunteers to undertake maintenance work, such as pruning.
Anouska Woods, community coordinator at BeGreen Dunbar, was delighted to help out.
She said: “Amisfield Walled Garden is stunning and it perfectly highlights the power of community co-ordination and team work.
“The volunteers and chairpersons of the trust work incredibly hard to make this a beautiful visitors’ destination all year round, and they provide an open and inclusive environment for people to learn a valuable new skill.
“We are excited to see how the garden will continue to develop with the purchasing of the fruit cage.”
One of the largest walled gardens in Scotland, Amisfield Walled Garden dates back to the 1780s.
The garden was used for cultivation until the Second World War but, in the 1960s, it fell into a state of neglect following the demolition of Amisfield House.
Volunteers took over the site, beside Haddington Golf Club, in 1999.
Since then, countless hours of work have been carried out to create a range of impressive features, including a sensory garden, hedge mazes, vegetables, and herbaceous borders around the edge, which house many different plants and flowering species.
Next Saturday (June 24), between 1pm and 4pm, plants, fruit and vegetables will be on sale through a summer event.
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