Volunteers at the stunning Botanic Gardens in Churchtown in Southport have hit back at demands to plant wildflowers instead of their beautiful display bedding.
Members of the Botanic Gardens Community Association have invested tens of thousands of hours over the past decade into planting millions of flowers and shrubs at the historic Victorian park, making it one of the premier parks in the North West, with support from Sefton Council’s Green Sefton team.
They have been left baffled by new Royal Horticultural Society guidance which calls for parks to use wildflowers instead of planted bedding as a way of promoting “a more natural way of gardening and displaying areas for judging.”
A Botanic Gardens Community Association spokesperson said: “We are in a quandary ,the RHS Britain in Bloom have stated In Bloom entrants should be stopping planting display bedding in favour of wildflowers and perennials and letting the lawns grow wild with no cutting.
“But the Botanic Gardens in Churchtown Southport have always been about putting on a great show.
“We have been very successful in putting on a ‘show’ following the tradition of Victorian days. Being rated as Outstanding for seven consecutive years with lots of other greater awards.
“The front of the Park is set up for it with its beautiful raised beds and it’s what the thousands of visitors want to see.
“What would these winter beds look like with died back wildflowers? They wouldn’t exactly raise your weary spirits.
“We have wild bee and butterfly attractor beds, one with 25 different plants and a Victorian Stumpery and perennial beds so please don’t knock our marks down for planting what the people want as well.
“There is room for everything in 25 Acres.
“After the Summer bedding has gone, which also attracts insects and bees, we plant up tried and tested Polyanthus and Primroses and Wallflowers and bulbs etc to keep winter spirits up.
“We do not wish to stop doing this, but we value being judged each year.
“I started this post by saying we. By we I don’t mean they have just selected us, it is a National Policy the RHS are promoting, a more natural way of gardening and displaying areas for judging.
“But everywhere is different.”
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