THE old bowls pitch in Tavistock Meadows could be turned into a special demonstration garden, if an initiative sparked by the town mayor takes root. Cllr Caroline Keane told members of the town council's properties committee that an area showing town residents sustainable ways of gardening would be a good idea. The suggestion followed a recent talk by the county's climate change officer regarding global warming, Cllr Keane said she had spoken to Oz Osborne, of the environmental charity Westden, and was enthusiastic the project should be investigated further. She said: 'Sustainable gardening is quite easy, it doesn't need to be expensive at all, it's about going back to the old days of gardening in England as it used to be. I feel if we set it up it would be good for people to see other ways of doing things. 'Some beds could be raised, which would be helpful for people in wheelchairs — we have the garden available, why don't we do something? 'It would be a real feather in our cap to be seen to be encouraging people to do things differently in the future, in view of the climate change problems we have.' Cllr Keane said the garden could also include sensory aspects, such as scented plants like lavender, and combine planting of vegetables with flowers. She said gardening in an ecologically sustainable manner was a very careful way of gardening and great care and attention to detail was vital for it to work properly. Cllr Iain Andrews, chairman of the committee, said such a demonstration garden would provide a useful educational tool for town residents. But Cllr Pike issued a note of caution: 'It's a good idea but it's a prime site. It's going to have to be kept neat and tidy — we don't want another occurrence of Bannawell Street, the wild west is not on — nature needs to be cultivated and pruned.' Cllr Maxine Gibson said: 'When we did the open spaces review, people told us they wanted flowers. I've seen some of these sustainable gardens and they are pretty dull. People want somewhere they can rest their aching feet and enjoy.' Cllr Brian Trew suggested the committee adopt the idea in principle, and ask the mayor to gain more information about ways in which such a garden could be created and maintained. The committee agreed — the decision was due to be ratified at the full meeting of the council on Tuesday night.