meet, make, grow + share

Community Growing

We operate a network of growing spaces across Inverclyde and have helped many schools, nurseries, community & faith groups set up their own growing spaces. In Port Glasgow, we have our larger market garden & apiary, In the east of Greenock we have a large Community Orchard & Hydroponics cell and in Gourock we have a Walled Garden, Apothecary Garden and Edible Trail.

These spaces are worked on every week throughout the year by groups of volunteers assisted occasionally by other groups who come along to help. Our harvests are distributed to all shed members and we also donate to local food pantries, elderly homes and other community groups.

We hold a Level 5 ‘Outstanding‘ from Keep Scotland Beautiful ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ Awards, we are also the winners of the Keep Scotland Beautiful Community Engagement Award 2024 & the UK-wide Royal Horticultural Society’s Community Engagement Award 2024.

Keep Scotland Beautiful logo with blue, purple, green, and yellow abstract cross design.
Royal Horticultural Society logo with a stylized tree and apples.
Polytunnel greenhouse with gardens and plants outdoors

Market Garden

This is a market garden based at Muirsheil Lane in the Devol Industrial Estate in Upper Port Glasgow and includes a cabin, two large polytunnels, apple, pear & plum orchard, soft fruits, vegetable beds and composting bays.

Volunteers help with all aspects of growing from preparation & propagation through to orchard care and harvesting.

Beekeepers inspecting a beehive frame with bees

Bee Apiary

We have our own apiary and bee keeping group who look after seven colonies close to our market garden and the moorland of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.

This is a friendly group who love to share their knowledge and skills with new members interested in bee husbandry. Volunteers are involved with learning about the theory of bee keeping through to hands on practicalities of hive inspections and spinning honey.

Aerial view of an industrial and residential area near the coast, featuring warehouses, buildings, roads, green spaces, and a church with a river or sea in the background.

Community Orchard

We have established three orchard sites of 200 trees in close proximity to each other, our workshop and the historic ‘Orchard Street’ in Greenock.

This has been undertaken in partnership with St Laurence RC Church, Lomond View Academy and Belville Community Gardens working with The Orchard Project.

Aerial view of Greenock, Scotland showcasing Edible Trail, Shore Street Community Garden, and Walled Garden. Nearby are housing, roads, and the waterfront of the River Clyde.

Walled Garden

The Inverclyde Shed established and sustains a large vegetable growing space & orchard in the Gourock Walled Garden. The space is in close proximity to a number of schools who have been actively engaged in learning about growing through the space.

Allotment garden with raised beds, planters, and greenhouse on a sunny day with bare trees.

Apothecary Garden

The Inverclyde Shed established and sustains an apothecary garden at Shore Street cultivating culinary, medicinal and botanical herbs for use in cooking, soaps, perfumes and tinctures made by members.

The site also features soft fruits, orchard and some vegetable growing.

Man holding smartphone with map app on screen, standing by a churchyard with plant pots.

Edible Trail

The Inverclyde Shed established and maintains an Incredible Edible Trail in Gourock linked to the Shore Street Apothecary Garden, it leads form the Gourock Rail Station, through Kempock Street, up to St Johns Church, back down to Shore Street and the Health Centre, It includes herbs, softfruits and a small public orchard on St Johns Road.

Visit the trail map HERE

Indoor vertical farm with multiple hydroponic towers

Hydroponics

We have started a hydroponics cell on the upper mezzanine of our workshop space in Greenock. Capable of growing up to 400 plants.

Follow all our gardening activity on instagram

We are delighted that our new EV Van, a VW id Buzz Cargo has finally arrived. Thankyou to The Robertson Trust for believing in us and supporting what we do for the next two years. Our van plays a crucial role, supporting our community gardens, suppo
Volunteers busy at Muirshiel Lane today, getting things shop shape for growing season with ongoing propagation, planting out, composting and getting cabin ready. We meet every Sunday 12-2pm at Muirshiel Lane, Port Glasgow for gardening and on days l
#Dibbers Thankyou to HMP Edinburgh
Phase 2 of the St Laurence Orchard begins, thanks to @inverclydecan support.
An amazing donation of garden tools from HMP Edinburgh including refurbished rakes, hoes, shovels, spades, compost forks and long dibbers
Wee spring bumper crop of Jerusleum Artichokes down at Shore Street this morning, harvested & replanted whilst we also planted mint basil, lemon balm. green fennel, chamomile, celery, sweet peas and nasturtium. We then moved on to the walled gard
Work has started on Phase 2 of our St Laurence Orchard Project (200no. Fruit Tree’s around the Grade A listed St. Laurence’s Church, Greenock and Lomond View Academy). Phase 2 has been fully supported by Inverclyde Climate Action Network,
Fergus @theorchardproject showing our volunteers tips on design, planting, mulching and orchard management.
Update on our St Laurence’s Orchard Project in Greenock planting 200no. heritage apple trees and hedgerow saplings in three phases. We are about half way through planting now and it’s really taking shape after a huge amount of effort from
When St Ninian’s Primary came to visit the Walled Garden and plant peas and tatties.
All 70 tattie pots planted with earlies and main crop. We also planted eight Jerusalem artichokes and made a start on the herb garden by planting the initial 200 herb plants.
Getting our Walled Garden community growing space all ready for the new season, erecting cane frames, checking on over wintering onions and planning the new beds.
Community orchard taking shape nicely.
The group has had an initial go at laying out the herbs & flowers for our new apothecary garden at Shore Street. Thanks to the ‘no paid’ team helping clear our old orchard site too.
The Orchard team hard at work today at our St Laurence site.
Great visit to @3townsgrowers #tattieday, was particuarly nice to meet chair Davie and see his accessible plot and find out more about the great community spirit this allotment has. Bumped in our pal @bloomingbob - will be great to hosts visits bet
Update on our St Laurence Orchard Project, we’ll be back this Wednesday 10-1pm if you’d like to get involved, wear suitable clothes and sturdy boots. Aerial photograph by @106creativehub
We were delighted to host WISHES (Women in Self Help and Emotional Support) at the shed for a Burns Lunch where we were supported by @coopuk and got to thanks their staff for all their help over the years.
CURLY SCOTS KALE, washed and ready for a soup. Kale is a nutritious food rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin K, and beta-carotene. It also contains nutrients that can support eye health, weight management & heart health.
Busy day at St Laurence Orchard site with the women leading the way 💪🏻 moving 10m3 of compost, stakes and taking delivery of our 36 heritage tree’s. Support from @theorchardproject and Moira @belvillecommunitygarden

““Volunteering in the gardens is a great way to learn more about gardening and to try vegetables, fruit & herbs that are maybe new to you. Plus, it's part of your community. I've been experimenting with rhubarb, strawberries and herbs in pots since joining the garden. I'm going to try my first no-dig bed next Spring.”

— Christine McConnell