Victorian Garden In Alsager Gets A Makeover (From Crewe Guardian)

Victorian Garden In Alsager Gets A Makeover

7:56am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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A TOWN centre park is being restored to its former glory by two local councils and an environmental charity.

Refurbishment work has now begun at the Victorian sunken garden in Alsager’s Milton Park, which once belonged to Milton house, a private residence built in 1866.

It was fashionable for Victorian houses to have impressive gardens, which often incorporated a sunken rock garden and pool, with an array of interesting plants and flowers all around.

A central fountain would always form an eye-catching centrepiece.

The garden was opened to the public in 1965 and incorporated into Milton Park but lack of funding and regular maintenance has resulted in deterioration over the years.

Now, the original rocks are to be re-used to form low retaining walls and the newly-shaped beds are then to be re-planted by local volunteers.

Sam Youd, the head gardener at Tatton Park has been helping the local project by choosing new plants and advising how to care for them.

Clr Andrew Knowles said: “The sunken garden is a beautiful feature within this park.

“We are privileged to have the head gardener from Tatton Park on board, his input will ensure the plants are perfect for the setting.

“The entire park improvement will certainly encourage more visitors to the area to come and enjoy the surroundings.”

The garden will also include new stone work designs, ironwork, paving and built-in seating served by new access paths. The work is expected to be completed by November.

Progress with the restoration has been made possible by the recent award of a £21,000 grant to the project from the landfill communities funds of Waste Recycling Group, distributed by WREN.

This money is being matched by contributions from Cheshire East Council and Alsager Town Council.

The local project is also being supported by Groundwork Cheshire through public consultation, fundraising and supervision of the improvement work.