In medieval times Monks at Greyfriars had a medicinal herb garden to meet the needs of the population. In November 2008 a small band of volunteers reclaimed the idea and began to plant a new series of beds throughout the Graveyard in an attempt to help meet the social and spiritual needs of the polulation.

Volunteers are recruited from within the Grassmarket Community as well as from the wider population with the aim being to provide community as well as training in gardening and herbalism to the volunteers. We also hope to improve the ascetics and biodiversity within the graveyard and to provide education on herbs, plant lore, herbiculture and composting to the wider community.

At present there are three beds of herbs being cultivated for use in cooking as well as those used historically for herbal medicine. In the near future we plan on harvesting the herbs for sale hoping to put the profits back into the project. Our volunteers are a mix of ages, social groups and abilities we maintain that everybody has something to contribute and something to learn.