Dunbar’s Close is an historic walled garden on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s Old Town laid out in the character of a 17th century garden. The Mushroom Trust acquired the land and recruited landscape architect Seamus Filor to design the garden, which was gifted to the City of Edinburgh Council in 1978. Since 1983 the Mushroom Trust has met the cost of maintaining the garden for the benefit of the general public. Entrance to the garden is free. The garden is a hidden gem, and an oasis of tranquility amid the bustle of the Royal Mile.

More information about Dunbar’s Close can be found here

Founded by NVA public arts organisation in 2003, the Hidden Gardens is an award-winning unique public greenspace and community development organisation which completely transformed an area of industrial wasteland, behind Tramway Arts Centre in East Pollokshields. The Hidden Gardens exists to promote understanding between people of all cultures, faiths and backgrounds and aims to be a place of inspiration and a respite from hectic urban life. The Gardens is a place of learning and exchange and through its programme of festivals, events and activities the Hidden Gardens is striving to create a common ground for all of Scotland’s communities to come together.

St Mary’s Pleasance is a private garden maintained for the public by Haddington Garden Trust. The trust’s aim is to ‘preserve the garden as an open precinct for the enjoyment of the public and to encourage the study of old Scottish gardens and gardening methods.’ The choice of design and plants reflects the features of a 17th century garden. The trustees of the Mushroom Trust donated funds to allow the gardener to continue to maintain and look after the garden.

The trustees donated funds toward the restoration of a sundial in the grounds of Ellon Castle, which stands 10 feet tall and is thought to date back over 300 years to the turn of the 18th Century. It is believed to be one of only two of its kind in existence. The sundial had fallen into disrepair but was restored by a conservation expert. The sundial’s restoration forms part of an ongoing project to return the grounds to their former glory.