Caretakers' Garden

The Brander Building has been in Huntly Square since 1853. At times containing school rooms, then a museum, always a library, but there is also a garden.

Those of us using the building have often wondered, who cared for this garden? Who is this garden for? Tucked away, behind the building with thick stone walls and an iron gate, the garden is overflowing with life, yet rich with traces of the people who have used and cared for it over decades. Inside the building there are remnants of wallpaper in the former caretakers’ flat - a bright floral pattern that gives a glimpse into the last residents’ lives. The caretaker for the Brander Building lived here with their family - did they care for the garden too?

We are currently on the look out for volunteer Garden Caretakers to join Lindy in helping look after the gardens! If you're interested, head to our Opportunities page for more info, or open the Open Call info doc in the side tab of this page.

In recent years, Deveron Projects has used this garden more than anyone. Artists, staff and neighbours have planted trees, dreamed up projects, grown food to share and hosted events – summer schools for young people; how to smoke a fish with local producers; workshops on gardening, ecology, art and food. Although we care for the garden, the garden also cares for all who spend time in it. The non-human ‘caretakers’ are just as crucial; the cats who keep the mice from nesting in the compost heaps, the toads who keep the slug population at bay, the bee and wasp pollinators and soil aerating worms and beetles. As human ‘caretakers’ we look after, not just the plants that feed us, but the soil, the fungus, the birds, mollusks, insects, and all those who inhabit these spaces.

For the past 2 years, Lindy Young, a keen gardener, formerly part of theTown is the Garden project, has nurtured the garden and its inhabitants. Throughout this time, Deveron Projects has acquired another garden oasis behind Square Deal, a former shop on The Square. Now, as human caretakers for two gardens, it’s important to ask; what is our role in caring for these gardens in the present and into uncertain futures? How do we build the means for communities (human and more-than-human) to enjoy the gardens, care for and with one another in?

Over the next year, Lindy will take these questions as a starting point to build sustainable systems of care with the gardens, for the benefit of current and future inhabitants. Together we will create a learning space for novice and seasoned gardeners- a space for exploration, experimentation and exchange. Regular workshops, drop-in sessions and artists’ projects will open the gardens up, inviting new ‘caretakers’ to come along and learn, help take care and be cared for, in the Caretakers’ Garden.

This project is part of Deveron Projects' Culture Collective project, The School of Vernacular Skills.