Lottery cash to make rare Liverpool plant collection bloom
BBCA collection of rare orchids and other botanical treasures will have a permanent home after funding was found.
Liverpool City Council has been awarded £245,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to protect its historic botanical collection.
The collection, currently in Croxteth Park's walled garden, dates back to 1803.
It was founded by MP William Roscoe who gathered specimens from across the world.
Last year, the council was forced to promise the collection "was not at risk" after revealing it was planning to change the way the plants were cared for.
Specialist gardeners, who maintain the collection, were told they would be redeployed to street cleaning.
However, the plan was shelved and the team was retained.
The council said lottery funding meant work can start to restore The Peach House, which will become the gateway to the collection and house some of the key botanical exhibits.
Currently in a state of disrepair, new glazing is needed for it to be a suitable home for the hundreds of varieties of plant species in Liverpool's ownership.
Cabinet member for culture Harry Doyle admitted it was "not good enough" for the collection to be "hidden away".
'Ambitious plans'
He said: "We're at the early stages of the project but our heritage team is already having encouraging conversations which will hopefully result in more funding which means we can make these ambitious plans a reality."
A council statement said it hoped the funding would be a catalyst for more, to help build on the ambition.
Future plans include:
- An education programme working with primary schools across the city to encourage children to connect with nature and show the links between botany and health and wellbeing.
- A focus on how to make the collection a key visitor attraction, with guided tours, workshops and open days.
- A dedicated website to open up the collection to people across the world who may not be able to visit in person. It will also ensure connections will be established with other worldwide botanical collections.
The council said its overall ambition is for Liverpool's Botanical Collection to be a centre of horticultural excellence and establish key collaborations with Kew Gardens, RHS Garden Bridgewater, as well as local botanical organisations such as the Eden Project North.
The ccouncil said it would work with the botanist team at National Museums Liverpool, as well as the universities, to redevelop Liverpool's rare orchid collections - with Liverpool being the first city to successfully propagate orchids more than 200 years ago.
The council said it would also work with the new Liverpool Botanical Trust which was formed last year.
The Botanic Collection at Croxteth Park has held National Plant Collections status since 1985, recognising it as a globally respected collection.
It consists of thousands of different plants, including orchids, ferns, begonia and tropical species.
Why not follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk
