My first visit to Liverpool was to see the International Garden Festival in 1984, prompted by my parents’ love of gardens and my love of Blue Peter. Last weekend I was excited to take part in the opening events for the restored Festival Gardens.

After years of neglect the site is looking fantastic again, even without my favourite feature (the dragon slide - of course).

This week’s photo, taken when the area had been derelict for a decade, shows just how much work it has taken to restore the Oriental Gardens. The results are wonderful, but as John points out, http://ourground.net/#2 this could be at a high cost to the surrounding area.

ourground.net