By William Coleman
A Flintshire holiday park have been busy exercising their green thumbs this summer as they receive the golden bouquet in the Wales Bloom awards.
During the award ceremony judges described the North Wales holiday park “inspirational”. The hard work and effort the park put in really did pay off as they landed the gold honour at yearly content which is very keenly contested.
The Tree Tops Caravan Park at Gwespyr, near Holywell, walked away with the coveted top spot in the 26th year in a row at the annual flower power event.
Director Andrew Walker, who runs Tree Tops alongside his parents Maureen and Harry, said that his park’s green-fingered staff deserved a major share of the credit: “We pride ourselves on our landscaped gardens, and have a dedicated team who go the extra mile to make sure everything is perfect for the people who come and stay with us,” he said.
“But we’re not complacent, and this year overhauled and redesigned our Japanese garden area to include new blooms and extra touches such as an arbour seat.
“As we’re open for nine months of the year, we plant for the seasons with an array of spring flowers at the start before moving on to a riot of summer colour which carries on into autumn.
“Tree Tops has always prided itself on being an oasis of calm, somewhere to relax and unwind, and the gardens are central to that experience,” added Andrew.
Some 16,000 plants a year are used throughout the park grounds, and Tree Tops’ gardening team has its own shrub nursery and grows the blooms on site.
The Wales in Bloom judges commended the park’s ‘inspirational’ approach to design and plant selection, and said it had set the standard for other park businesses to emulate.
Andrew said that this year’s award had come as a surprise and delight to everyone at the park:
“We were thrilled when we won our very first Wales in Bloom award, and never imagined that we would still be picking up the accolade more than a quarter of a century later!
“But nothing stands still in gardening, and we are already planning and propagating in readiness for our entry into the 2019 championships!” added Andrew.
There is more information about Tree Tops on its website at www.treetopscaravanpark.co.uk
