A WONDROUS living exhibition or an expensive artistic flop? The jury's out on whether the Storey Institute's new 'Tasting Garden' is an artistic asset to the city or a waste of public money. Fans of the £98,000 project to develop a living exhibition of rare fruit trees say it's a brilliant mix of art and ecology.

But many local people who have visited the garden have been thoroughly unimpressed.

"It's disappointing to say the least. On my last visit I noted that 12 out of the 22 trees planted appeared to be dead," said John Barry.

"I originally had worries about the way the trees had been planted but decided to wait to see how the garden developed. Fruit trees should be planted in the winter months and they need lots of water not just a sprinkling. I feel that a lot of money has been spent to create a rather barren garden with a few bollards and a shed that you can't use."

Famous New York artist, Mark Dion, flew in to design the lottery-funded garden which was a joint venture between Artranspennine98, the Storey Institute and Lancaster City Council. Mr Barry, who is an active Green Party member, added: "I am sad that I feel the need to make criticisms as I'm all in favour of preserving rare varieties. Unfortunately, over half of those at the Storey Institute are not just rare - they're extinct!" John Angus of the Storey Gallery admitted some of the trees had died but said they would be replanted.

He said: "People think it's a garden but it's an art work and, like any other work of art, it's had a mixed reaction. It's not what people expect a garden to look like. We had Geoffrey Smith from Gardeners' Question Time down here and, when he first saw it, he said he didn't like it. But when he'd finished filming he said he'd changed his mind and thought it would look good in about five years' time. People should see it themselves and make up their own minds."

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