Interest in a community garden has blossomed after it appeared on the Gardeners World TV show.
The blooms, creepers and succulents at award winning Sandown Community Garden featured in the BBC 2 programme earlier this month.
They provided a colourful item for the broadcast, fronted by green fingered expert Monty Don. But florals aside, it was the community spirit that really shone through.
Founder Linda Ford introduces the project, which has won national and regional acclaim since it started in 2015 with husband John and Marlene Walker.
She says: “We’re here all the time, we love it. As soon as the sun’s out, we’re out here gardening.”
Sandown Castle was built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540, around the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, when the king broke away from Catholicism.
It was one of three defence forts on the coast at Deal, all formed in the shape of a Tudor Rose. Castles at Deal and Walmer make up the trio, but Sandown, the most exposed to the elements, is now just a ruin.
In 1949 it became a community garden, but six…
