Gilwell Park on the edge of Epping Forest is the home of The Scouts. It’s a really historic site, with centuries of history. The Scouts plan to celebrate 100 years of their ownership of the park next year. Ahead of this, a small team has been charged with improving the landscape of the site to make it look amazing for this important anniversary.
The ITV gardening programme Love Your Garden sees the team visit sites across the country helping people who are facing difficulties transform their gardens, offering them a place to relax and escape. One of the programmes hosts David Domoney spoke to Ken Crowther.
Based on the Suffolk/Norfolk border The Bressingham Gardens were founded by Alan Bloom of Blooms Nurseries in 1953. The gardens were opened to the public in 1962 with six acres and 500 different species and cultivars. His son Adrian Bloom went on to further develop the gardens as he explained to Ken Crowther when he took him for a tour of the site.
An easy way to create instant summer colour is by using hanging baskets and troughs. Garden centres and nurseries have plenty on display but it’s easy to create your own. Phostrogen Slow Release Plant Food and Moisture Control is an ideal solution for busy gardeners as Tom Cole, Senior Horticultural Lecturer at Writtle University College told Ken Crowther.
Mulberry Trees have a royal connection which can be traced by to the Tudors. Historically the Marks Hall estate near Coggeshall in Essex had trees but they disappeared. New trees were planted in the 90s for their historical reference but also for their fruit as Jonathan Jukes, curator of Marks Hall told Ken Crowther.