Tenants of Melville Housing Association are being urged to come forward with ideas for local landscaping schemes following the spectacular and 'inspirational' transformation of a patch of waste ground on a Dalkeith housing estate by two local residents.

Senior figures from Melville, including chairman, Brian Christie, visited the transformed plot and met the keen gardening enthusiasts behind the dramatic facelift.

Baxter Keiller and Christine McGrouther of Ruskin Place, Mayfield, who were presented with vouchers for their work, have spent the past year transforming the patch of land on their estate from a derelict eyesore to a landscaped green haven. Work on the project, which has so far taken up almost 40 man hours, began in May 2007.

Mr Keiller said: "It is a labour of love more than anything. We never expected any reward for it. The patch had been left derelict for so long we felt that something needed to be done to make it safer for the kids and nicer to look at for everybody. It was just an eyesore before."


Baxter, one of the first tenants to move into the Mayfield estate in 1964, came up with the idea of transforming the plot and enlisted the help of former landscape gardener Christine, who has lived on the estate for 26 years.

He added: "Christine's landscaping and planting knowledge has been invaluable. Before I retired I was a driving instructor but my father was a keen gardener."

Baxter and Christine received help from the local community in the form of cuttings and flowers for the plot donated by neighbours. Even more significant was the assistance of one neighbour, Paul Wilson, who loaned a digger to remove the roots of bushes and to turn over the soil.

"The digger saved us hours of back-breaking work," said Christine. "Without it we might have had to give up before we'd even begun."

Brian Christie said: "We are delighted to recognise the days of hard work put in by Mr Keiller and Mrs McGrouther in transforming this patch of land. What they've achieved is truly inspirational. We wish to encourage more projects like this, which improve estates for all residents. A 'green grant' scheme is something we've been considering for a while and the work of these two keen gardeners has inspired us to develop the plans further and that's why we're calling on tenants with similar plans to get in touch."

(GK/JM)