A secret garden hidden within the grounds of Croxteth Hall is facing an uncertain future after its team of dedicated gardeners were told they would soon be packing up their tools.
The Roscoe Botanical Garden, located in greenhouses in the walled garden at Croxteth Hall, could be '"lost forever" if the specialists who have cared for the exotic collection for years are sent elsewhere by Liverpool City Council, the West Derby Society warned.
Chairman Stephen Guy said: "(The gardeners') skills in nurturing these vulnerable and unusual plants over many years are in danger of being lost. One of Liverpool's great collections could wither and die, leaving a great gap in the city's and UK's cultural offer. These plants need specialist care and there appears to be no plan for a sustainable future.
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"There is also a question mark over what happens to the historic walled garden, whose care is also led by the team."
He said the society was told of the council's plans to move the gardening team elsewhere last week, but had received no further information since then.
He said: "We're all in the dark and don't know what's going on. The garden could wither and die without the gardeners - that's the worst case scenario.
"Croxteth Hall is where the agricultural college, Myerscough College, is based, and the students help out the gardeners. But students are a transient population. These plants need specialist gardeners and the ones we have have been looking after the collection for years."
The Roscoe Collection was founded in 1802 by the famous historian, slavery abolitionist and former Liverpool MP William Roscoe. Initially located near Mount Pleasant, it was moved to Wavertree Botanic Gardens in the 1830s and later to Calderstones Park, where it remained until the greenhouses were demolished by Liverpool Council in 1986. The collection then went to south Liverpool, before being relocated to Croxteth Hall some years ago.
Roscoe, also a dedicated botanist, had more than 4,000 plants shipped to Liverpool’s docks by Victorian plant hunters, including exotic fruits - sugar cane, coffee plants, mangos, guavas, pomegranates, custard apples, vanilla beans, papaws, bananas and figs.
Stephen said: "It's very important, it's very old. It has unique and old specimens which can't be found in Kew Gardens. It's not your average greenhouse - these are tropical plants which have been collected over the years.
"It's a priceless asset to Liverpool and it seems to be being treated in a very cavalier fashion."
A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: “The city council is looking at a number of options at how best to showcase the collection and funding assessments are currently being undertaken.”
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