Record crowds flocked to the polytunnels in a north-east park to attend the sixth Seedy Sunday festival.
Hundreds of people braved the rain and winds to visit the popular event at Aden Country Park yesterday.
The polytunnels housed a wide range of stalls which promoted the park’s allotments, showcased local food and drink businesses and boosted the sales of a variety of hand-crafted items, plants and left-over seeds.
One of the main attractions at the event was the One Seed Forward – the seed swap.
In advance of the proceedings, people had been asked to donate excess seeds, allowing others to buy them on the day to ensure less waste and get more people into gardening.
The popular festival was organised by Maud-based charity, Buchan Development Partnership.
Development worker, Leona Findlay was delighted with the turnout.
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She said: “It’s been a really successful day – we’ve had bigger crowds than we’ve ever had before.
“Not even the weather can dampen everyone’s spirits this year.
“We were almost finished with the seeds by 1pm, so it has been great.
“This is an opportunity for like-minded people and gardeners of all abilities and experience to share their expertise as well as for people to shop for local produce and crafts in the stalls.”
Throughout the day, talks were held in the back corner of the tunnels.
Three of those were organised by local Your Secret Ingredients chef Kenny Smart who has been attending the festival for the last few years.
He said: “Today has been great – the weather hasn’t scared people away either which is good. It has definitely been busy from the outset.
“Coming to Seedy Sunday is nice as I get to cook with really local produce from the stalls here and showcase the amazing larder that Aberdeenshire has.”
As the day progressed and the rain persistently drummed on the plastic tunnel, more visitors walked around the stalls marvelling at the foods and crafts.
Chairwoman of the Aden Allotments, Paula Cordiner, said: “It’s great to be able to swap seeds as you get so much in a packet and they can be quite expensive especially when you divide them up and have lots left.
“It also means people can access a variety of seeds for a lesser price.
“This way we can also encourage and teach others, of any income, how to grow, cook and use the things they can grow, giving them a helping hand.”
