Date: 28 February 2019
Getting ready to blossom in 2019
Harrogate and Pateley Bridge will be flying the flag for Yorkshire as both towns have been invited to enter Britain in Bloom 2019. We won’t be competing against them as we are in different categories. We’ll be going for our thirteenth national title.
Did you see episode 1 of Monty Don’s new series on 15 February? Monty travels to Japan to trace the history of Japanese gardens and in the opening few minutes you would have thought he was in Japan but he was actually at Tatton Park.
The Tatton Japanese Garden was almost certainly the result of Alan de Tatton’s visit to the Anglo-Japanese Exhibition at the White City in London in 1910. Since authenticity was regarded as of the utmost importance, trees, shrubs, wooden buildings, bridges, and even stones were brought in from Japan for this exhibition
Inspired by what he saw there, Alan de Tatton decided to introduce a Japanese Garden to Tatton which is now rated to be the ‘finest example of a Japanese Garden in Europe.’
Apparently Tatton was not alone in his desire to create a Japanese Garden as many other Europeans did too. Some remain others long gone. And it is thanks to the Friends of the Valley Gardens that our own Japanese Garden has been fully reclaimed and authentically restored. It’s a beautiful area of a magnificent public garden and I urge you to visit as spring starts to blossom.
Finally, a big thank you to the Fat Badger and White Hart Hotel for publicly celebrating their success in our own Harrogate in Bloom awards. Lots of businesses display their certificates but this is the first time a business has put a sign on the outside of its premises. Good one to show the BIB judges!