TAUNTON and Wellington parks were designed as such. Blake Gardens was a private garden and, with some extra land, was adapted to a public park, so it started with a disadvantage. However, it does have some fine mature trees (see the new Bridgwater Town Tree Trail booklet). Even now, in winter, it has some delightful shrubs such as Garrya elliptica with its silvery tassels backed by its dark leaves, Cornus mas with its twigs spangled with clusters of tiny yellow flowers, the superb scent of the Winter Sweet and one of the best berried and variegated hollies. The lockdown for Covid-19 has given rise to greater appreciation of our parks and gardens and these places are now properly recognised as extremely valuable for our health, both physical and mental.