Last updated at 23:35, Sunday, 01 February 2009

Bosses at one of Cumbria’s most famous tourist attractions are drawing up plans for a new organic garden.

Environmentally friendly: The World of Beatrix Potter won a Cumbria Business Environment Network Gold Award for its green approach

Managers at the World of Beatrix Potter are designing a new feature, the Peter Rabbit Naturally Better Garden, at their premises at Bowness-on-Windermere.

The new garden will be run on strict eco-friendly principles.

Rainwater will be collected and used for watering plants, fruit and veg will be grown organically without the use of chemical fertilisers, solar panels will be fitted to produce electricity and flowerpots and seed pots made from recycled newspaper will be used.

The garden will be 136 square metres in size.

Trees are to be planted in it and bird boxes and insect boxes will also be installed to attract wildlife.

Marketing manager Richard Foster said the organic techniques and solar panels were modern innovations, but the idea behind the scheme was to grow vegetables as they would have been grown 100 years ago, when Beatrix Potter was writing her children’s books.

“We want to create an Edwardian garden, using Edwardian practices to grow the sorts of plants that Beatrix Potter would have seen in a garden,” he said.

Mr Foster also revealed that it would provide fresh, healthy food for the meals served in their tea rooms, and would promote the green message to visitors at the same time.

“We want to ensure that the whole garden is run in an environmentally sustainable way,” he said.

“Around 60 per cent of people in Britain say they grow some form of fruit and veg in their garden, and about two-thirds of the remainder say they will be trying to do that.

“So we hope people will come along and get a few tips about how to grow food in an environmentally friendly way.”

Although the plans are currently being drawn up, Mr Foster said work would be starting early in the new year and managers hope the garden will be open to the public in late May, in time for next summer’s visitors.

First published at 05:41, Friday, 26 September 2008
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk