Royal visit marks diamond day for gardens

Jul 11 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

Royal visit marks diamond day for gardens

A ROYAL visitor celebrated the 60th anniversary of Ness Gardens being acquired by Liverpool University.

The Duke of Gloucester met staff and volunteers at the gardens, which were presented to the university in 1948.

He then planted a Wollemi pine tree to commemorate the event.

Gardens director Kevin Reid said: “2008 has been a fantastic year for the gardens. Ness was voted Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Mersey Tourism Awards.

“We are delighted the Duke was able to visit us in this particularly special year.”

The visit also included a tour of the gardens, passing through the Global Warming Area and the Water Gardens, and a chance for the Duke to meet the head teacher and pupils of Parklands Community Primary School.

Wollemi pines are some of the world’s oldest trees, having survived since the time of the dinosaurs.

There are fewer than 100 adult specimens in the wild, so a programme has been developed to prevent their extinction.