Fruit Ripening in the Kailyard
July 2019
The growing season is in full swing in the Kailyard with volunteers checking on pests and the plants. The Kailyard is a project to recreate a 19th Century kitchen garden such as would have been used by the colonists on Bennachie. It is hoped the that working on the garden will give us new insights into their lives. This is the second summer since the plants were established and it looks as if there will be a good crop of gooseberries and the currants are coming along nicely. The raspberries are autumn varieties so will be ready a bit later. The garden volunteers are wondering how the Colonists have used their fruit. One suggestion is they may have made cranachan with the raspberries. It seems a bit fancy for people struggling to get by but they would have had cream, oatmeal, honey and of course whisky! So with all the ingredients they could have made the traditional Scottish sweet. If there enough fruit produced in the Kailyard the volunteers will try out some possibilities. To visit Shepherd's Lodge and the other colony sites pick up a colony trail leaflet from the Bennachie Centre.
