We asked visitors to Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival for their top tips for a seaside railway station garden, and received dozens of imaginative and charming suggestions.
Citizens’ Rail and Travel Devon set out to discover what makes the perfect seaside railway station garden at our stand at Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival, held earlier this month at Powderham Castle.
We were overwhelmed by the response, with more than 90 top tips put forward by visitors to the festival. They ranged from the spectacular to the practical, and everything in between.
Two prizes were up for grabs, a First Great Western rose and a pair of train tickets to London (generously donated by First Great Western). The rose was awarded to Erika Gooding for her vision of an “edible seaside garden” featuring sea beet, Alexanders, fennel, wild edible flowers including pansies, marigolds and violets, and herbs including thyme, sage and rosemary.
First prize went to Catherine Pollitt for her plan to capture children’s imagination by installing sculptures of small garden creatures among the plants for youngsters to spot and learn about. The models could include snails, ladybirds, worms and centipedes, and would be placed among the specific plants upon which each animal thrives.
As part of the Citizens’ Rail project, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership is now working with First Great Western and other partners to explore making both concepts a reality at local stations.
Update:
Catherine’s idea has now been put into practice in the form of the Riviera Line Minibeast Trail.
