National Trust to support conservation with Blue Diamond funding
The National Trust has announced that £1m of funding from Blue Diamond Garden Centres will be spent on garden and plant conservation projects.
Blue Diamond Garden Centres has committed to giving the conservation charity £1m over three years and the commitment is now entering its third year.
Among the places to benefit from the money will be Berrington Hall in Herefordshire, Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton, and Benthall Hall in Shropshire.
“We’re proud to be custodians of centuries of gardening heritage and we are ambitious for our world-class gardens,” says Andy Jasper, director of gardens and parklands at the National Trust.
“Our collaboration with Blue Diamond Garden Centres is helping us to accelerate projects that not only secure the future of plants and gardens, but ensure our gardens excite, inspire and are ready for the future.
“Together we’re achieving great things in our gardens.”
At Berrington Hall, £130,000 will be put toward creating a new flower garden in the footprint of one shown in historic maps.
Meanwhile, at Wightwick Manor, £30,000 of the funding will enable the renewal of the kitchen garden as well as improving the accessibility through the garden to the newly-restored Peach House.
Money from the garden centre group will also help the National Trust create species-rich meadows at Woolsthorpe Manor, including seasonal bulbs, in the meadow and orchard.
Alan Roper, managing director of Blue Diamond Garden Centres says: “The National Trust is a much loved and cherished institution.
“Blue Diamond is one of the largest financial contributors to the Trust’s gardens and our funding will enable the National Trust to accelerate important plant and garden conservation works, continuing to preserve our heritage and open spaces for all to enjoy.”