A special reunion is being planned at Threave Garden and Estate.
Students and staff from the National Trust for Scotland’s School of Heritage Gardening are being invited to come along on Saturday, June 29 for the celebration.
Among those present will be founding principal Bill Hean and former vice principals Magnus Ramsay and Bob Brown.
Brian Stuart, who is organising the event along with fellow alumni Jim Laurie and John MacArthur, said: “Those three were the core of the original instructors.
“The new instructors – Gareth Clingan and Michael Lawrie the head gardener – are excellent instructors. When we see the work they’re doing now, it’s every bit as good as it was and it’s quite a bit of pride for us.
“The school has been going for more than 50 years and its open to any staff or students who want to come. We’re hoping to get the present students because Threave Gardens is a living thing and it’s going forward. We want to talk to them as well so we’ve asked for a guided tour of the garden as there’s been many changes over the years.
“We want to talk to the youngsters as well because we went through that and we’re so grateful for it.
(Image: Bobby Geddes)
“We have more people coming forward now – we’re getting a bit of help from the curator of the botanic gardens in Edinburgh who is a fellow student.
“Three curators of horticultural establishments in Scotland were trained at Threave and it’s a credit to the training they received that they went on to be at the very top of the profession.”
Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson is also backing the reunion and has lodged a motion at Holyrood highlighting the “excellent work” that is being carried out at the school.
The celebrations are set to run from June 28 to 30 with the main event starting at 2pm on June 29. There will also be an event at the Masonic Hall in Castle Douglas later in the day.
Anyone who is planning to come is asked to contact John, who lives in Stranraer, on 07810 865541 or Jim, who lives in Castle Douglas, on 07795 972812.
Sadly, one former student won’t be there. Brian, who now lives in Poland, said: “What started it was a really passionate Scotsman called Michael Middleton, who was a student the year after me and married a girl from Castle Douglas then moved to Aberdeen.
“I got in contact with him a few years ago and every day he would send me a comedy clip of something like Rab C Nesbitt.
“I was going to see him a few years ago but it was a long way to go to Aberdeen so I postponed it. Unfortunately, he died very suddenly and it brought home to me if we don’t meet up, we lose this forever.
“He was the catalyst and set all this in motion.
“His wife’s family is called Brown and quite a few people know them and Michael.
“When I was in Castle Douglas I was in the newspaper shop and they all knew about Michael, his wife and family – it’s quite a close knit family.”
