BRIDGEMERE, England -- The garden center in Bridgemere is said to be the largest of its kind in Europe. In the quiet of Cheshire's spreading plains, it is its own world of year-round flowers and plants, trees and garden ideas. It has greenhouses, fish in tanks and rustic furniture. Additionally, and for public enjoyment, it is an extensive showplace of more than 20 styles of garden, from an old-fashioned English cottage garden though roses, rocks and water to woodlands, a formal Victorian garden and Mediterranean vibrancy.
Many of the gardens have been re-created from exhibits at major garden festivals. "Bridgemere is wonderful," said a Japanese visitor, busy with his camera. "The variety of plants here is unbelievable."
He was in a group of nurserymen and garden designers from Osaka. On a whirlwind three-day tour of British garden centers, they were in the charge of Kazuko Ogawa, a Tokyo-born longtime London resident. Kazuko, practical, capable and outgoing, is a freelance registered guide and interpreter. She says she loves her work, and plans to continue it indefinitely.