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graham.sievers@perfectlypicked.com

For immediate release:

UK, 19 September 2016

Historic Sunbury Walled Garden claims Top Spot despite "War on the Roses"

Recognition for Lotus Landscapes after restoring "horticultural gem" from storms

A 300 year-old historic walled garden in Surrey has been declared the overall winner in the Small Park category for the fourth year running, despite a deluge of rain earlier in the year that destroyed the extraordinary range of rose beds.

Part of Britain in Bloom, the panel of judges forSouth and South East in Bloomannounced the winner from the hundreds of entries at Fareham last week.

Spelthorne Council's Cabinet Member for the environment,Cllr Tony Mitchellthanked the contractorLotus Landscapes, one of the UK's most respected landscaping companies, and the Council's Neighbourhood Services team.

"We had a pretty torrid Spring, when a deluge of rain fought a war on the roses." explained Byron Crofton, Head of Sales at Lotus Landscapes. "You are never told when the judges will visit the parks or gardens, so our team, led by Michael Codd, would start mornings at 5am to try and repair the damage from the storms. I'm delighted and relieved that their immense hard work has been recognised by winning the Gold Award along with the overall winner for Small Parks.

"Sunbury Walled Garden is a horticultural gem, with a spectacular range of trees, roses, lavender, lupins and other plants, all contained within a two-acre site. The park is top-rated onTrip Advisor, and is an excellent example of how an old and neglected garden can be revived with a combination of council, community and contractor support." Concludes Mr Crofton.

Lotus Landscapes are also the contractors for Sunbury and Staines Cemeteries, which retained their Silver Gilt Award status.

The garden houses theSunbury Millenium Embroiderythat celebrates the ancient village of Sunbury-on-Thames and its community. Inspected by the Queen in 2001, it required over 150 local embroiderers, and one hundred thousand hours of effort.

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High resolution photos of the garden and more details of the flora there are available from Graham Sievers
 graham.sievers@perfectlypicked.comtel: 077 222 82 946
In addition to the flora, skilled remedial arboricultural  help was needed to restore a century old Atlas Cedar 

About Lotus Landscapes

Lotus Landscapes was originally formed in 1978 as a Grounds Maintenance business based in Hampshire.

They have grown significantly in recent years expanding upon their core grounds maintenance business to include hard & soft landscaping, fencing, playground management, civic flower displays, hanging basket provision and maintenance, highway verge maintenance, cleaning services, void clearances, fly-tip and bulk waste removal. They also operate a large arboriculturedivision. A 24/7 call out service is also available for any of their services.

The company became part of the VPS Group in 2015.www.lotus-landscapes.co.uk

email: enquiries@lotus-landscapes.co.uk  

Tel.: 01256 703350

About the VPS Group:

VPSsecure more than 50,000 residential and commercial properties and employ over 1600 staff in locations across the UK, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and mainland Europe. They specialise in securing, maintaining and managing vacant property across a wide range of customer and industry sectors.

Core building services cover the vacant, unoccupied and void property lifecycle from an initial risk assessment, to security, including guarding, monitoring, clearing, cleaning, maintenance and preparation.  These services protect properties against unauthorised access and a variety of hazards such as arson, theft, squatting and unauthorised occupation. www.vpsgroup.com

VPS Group. Broadgate House, Broadway Business Park, Chadderton, Greater Manchester, Lancashire OL9 9XA

Phone: 0330 005 5300