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Commonwealth Games garden to be replanted in Port Glasgow

Gordon Terris Three people - two women flanking one man - standing in the middle of a Saltire shaped garden. They are all laughing and smiling while surrounded by greenery.Gordon Terris
The garden has been given to horticulture charity Parklea Branching Out

A large natural garden featured in the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will be replanted in Port Glasgow.

The garden was where King Charles and Queen Camilla emerged from a Tardis at the start of the show at the OVO Hydro.

It has been given to the charity Parklea Branching Out, which uses horticulture to give training, recreational and social facilities for people with support needs.

The garden will be displayed in its original saltire shape for the next few weeks, before the 2,400 trees and shrubs are permanently planted into borders.

Athletes from 74 nations and territories paraded around the 200 sq m (2,153 sq ft) garden to mark the start of the Games.

It was designed by Amalie White in collaboration with plantsman Jamie Butterworth.

It was designed to highlight the natural beauty of Scotland "by evoking its untamed wilderness of lochs, hills, and moorland".

Getty Images Athletes walking out at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, making their way around a circular stage set, with a garden in the middle of it.Getty Images
The garden had a prominent role at the 2026 Games opening ceremony

The temporary Port Glasgow display will give visitors the chance to walk through the crossed pathways and experience the planting up close.

Plantsman Jamie Butterworth, also a TV presenter with the BBC's Gardener's World, said it was a "loving tribute" to Scotland.

He said: "We are absolutely thrilled that the garden is relocating to Parklea Branching Out in Port Glasgow - a brilliant organisation that is using horticulture in a completely different and deeply impactful way."

The charity works with adults and children with learning and physical disabilities, people with mental health problems, school leavers, the unemployed, elderly groups and community groups.

Gordon Terris Workers and people who use Parklea;s facilities standing in front of the Saltire garden, on display in a new locationGordon Terris
The charity uses gardening to provide training and social facilities for people with support needs

Parklea Branching Out manager, Sharon Gemmell, said: "Introducing these plants, with their soft, muted colours and textures – carefully chosen to reflect the Scottish landscape - will help bring cohesion, natural calm and a stronger sense of place to the project.

"Everyone who spends time here comments on its warm, welcoming, inclusive atmosphere and we believe this planting style will only enhance that experience."

Amalie White, the creative director for the opening ceremony, said it was rare for a piece of set design to live on beyond the stage.

She said Scotland's textile industry had helped inspire the thinking behind the garden, with the plants designed to echo the colours and textures of traditional tartan and tweed.