Best Drought Tolerant/ Water Conservation Garden 2012

With this in mind, Garden Of The Year organisers introduced a category to find the area’s best drought resistant/water tolerant garden and it was an oasis of greenery in the middle of a road junction that landed the prize.

Two beds at Rothsay Road Roundabout in the Castle Road area of Bedford has been developed into a herb garden under the banner Zero Carbon Castle.

Neighbourhood resident Anne Doody, alongside Lucy Bywater, Esin Eskici and a team of volunteers manage the garden with regular working parties throughout the year.

Anne said: “The idea is to provide herbs that people in the local area can pick themselves. A lot of people have praised it, one person said it was a jewel 
of Bedford.”

“Before this year, the last two years have been dry. We only water when we plant new herbs. Most herbs are Mediterranean and are used to dry conditions.”

There are popular herbs such as mint, rosemary and thyme together with lesser-known varieties maiden pink and elecampne. An information board gives details on the history of herbs and how they have been used.