Dunfermline nursery's growing gains in Keep Scotland Beautiful contest

The children showed off their blossoming skills to claim a win in the nationwide Pocket Garden Design Competition run by the environmental charity.

Little ones from the nursery, on Robertson Road, often visit Townhill Loch and, together with the birds, insects and plants it supports, their favourite location provided the inspiration for their creation.

A spokeswoman from Lauriston told the Press: "We take regular walks there as the children enjoy learning about nature.

"They worked very hard to grow their own flowers and plants for the pocket garden and although some did not work out, it didn’t dampen their spirits.

"We reached out to some local businesses who kindly donated some wild flowers and even gave us a discount.

"Thank you to Dobbies and Growforth, both in Dunfermline, for helping to bring the children’s design to life."

The little ones wrote signs to put in the garden and grew dandelions, daisies, ferns, mint and moss; they planted lobelias, primroses and poppies to attract bees and selected pond plants such as picta, arum lilies and juncus infexus.

She added: "We chose these as most help to support wildlife.

"The children also included some recycled items in their garden, as found by the loch, such as plastic tarpaulin, to make our ‘loch’, some plastic bottles to help grow our seeds and pebbles we found on the way to paint their favourite animals."

Children from as young as three were challenged to design a colourful and sustainable garden that could feature at the Scottish Gardens Show at Scone Palace in late May.

Unfortunately, the show has been cancelled due to COVID restrictions but the winning schools and nurseries are still growing and building their gardens and the finished designs will be available to view in an online showcase, where the nation will also be able to vote for their favourites from June 5 to 13.

You'll be able to do so at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/pocketgarden.