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Pitlochry in Bloom was invited by BBC Scotland's Beechgrove Garden to create a show garden for "Gardening Scotland 2001" in conjunction with Scottish Natural Heritage, whose own exhibit launches a new Government Strategy-"Gardens for Life". The objective of this strategy is to increase gardeners' understanding of the importance of biodiversity-the variety of all life forms, the ecological roles they perform and the genetic diversity they contain.
The idea behind the garden - Highland Jewel - is to reflect the natural beauty of Pitlochry and its surroundings.
The garden utilizes natural materials with its central feature, a kissing bench made of local stone and timber, symbolizing the romanticism of Victorian Pitlochry. Railway sleepers represent the historic importance of the railway to the town, and Scots Pine, Oak and Silver Birch the native tree species. This is a low maintenance garden, with plants specifically selected to encourage biodiversity and survive rabbits! Sculptures by local artists add year round interest.
This show garden represents the achievements of Pitlochry in Bloom and reflects the hard work and community spirit generated in the town. The garden is looked after by a local resident of Pitlochry.
Under the auspices of the "Take a Pride in Perthshire" campaign and "Keep Scotland Beautiful", Pitlochry promotes the work of the Bloom movement to the many thousands of visitors who pass through this "Highland Jewel". The garden was awarded a Silver medal by the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and the Pitlochry Civic Trust Award in 2002.
We are extremely grateful to the Pitlochry Tourism Trust who kindly sponsored the rebuilding of the Petit Jardin on Atholl Road so that everyone could enjoy the exhibit.
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