​Greening Grey Britain – our talented school and community winners

Winners of the 2018 Greening Grey Britain gardening competition and ‘design a poster’ competition have been announced.

The talented winners were awarded their prizes by the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Jane Black, at a ceremony in Bury Town Hall.

Supported by local businesses, the gardening competition has been running for eight consecutive years to encourage residents, communities and schools to make use of their gardening skills and to help celebrate Bury and Radcliffe in Bloom.

Judging of the gardens was carried out during August by officers from the parks and countryside service.

Entries were judged on:

* Overall design (colour, suitability and quality of plants, upkeep and ‘wow factor’);

* Wildlife (wildlife-friendly plants and features);

* Recycling (compost bins, imaginative/practical use and re-use of materials);

* Sustainability (water conservation/retention, use of permanent planting).

For a discretionary award, all entries were also judged on whether a Greening Grey Britain theme had been incorporated. Greening Grey Britain is a theme owned by RHS Britain in Bloom which is all about transforming hard grey areas into living, planted places that enrich lives.

Best Private Front Garden, sponsored by The Rock, was won jointly by Mr Kevan Eastham and Mrs Victoria Thomas, while Mr Iain MacKay and Mr and Mrs Mike and Chris Hamer were join second. In joint third place were Ms Marie Rowles and Mr and Mrs Colin and Tina Harrison. Certificates of achievement went to Octavia Prentice and Clementine McDonald.

Best Street or Community Garden, sponsored by Summerseat Garden Centre, was won by Abbey Close Tenants and Residents Association. Runner-up was Corrie Gardeners.

Best School Environmental Garden, sponsored by Wickes, was won by Guardian Angels RC Primary School. Runners-up were Cams Lane Primary School, Peel Brow Primary School and Chantlers Primary School.

The discretionary award for the Greening Grey Britain for Health and Happiness, sponsored by Newbank Garden Centre, went to Guardian Angels RC Primary School.

In the ‘design a poster’ competition, children aged 4 to 16 were invited to explore their creative side and design a poster to promote the RHS Greening Grey Britain theme.

The winning entries were put on display in town centre shops and local parks to help promote this year’s entries in RHS North West in Bloom and Britain in Bloom. Each of the young artists won prizes donated by Tesco and Bury Recycling Team.

The winners were (age at entry): Emily Ruehorn (6), Holly Friedrich (7), Esther Schwarz (7), Lacie-Mae Talbot (7), Iyla Wilkinson (6), Olivia Crossland (12), Benjamin O’Brien (7), Grace MacKay (9) and Hollie MacKay (11)

Nearly 400 entries were received and the overall winner of the award, sponsored by Bury Market, was Olivia Crossland.

Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, said: “Congratulations to everyone who entered this year’s garden and ‘design a poster’ competitions. As always the standard of garden entries was first-rate as was the artistic efforts of our youngsters.

“The posters are always a great asset to our annual ‘in bloom’ campaigns, and the garden competition gives us a great opportunity to reward the hard work of green-fingered residents who continue to do their bit to keep our borough looking great.

“Many thanks also to all the local businesses that supported these competitions by providing the prizes and attending the awards ceremony.”

The mayor added: “It was a pleasure to meet all the winners and present them with their certificates at the town hall. They all play a huge part in bringing colour to our borough and promoting our environment.”

To get involved with, or to sponsor, Bury or Radcliffe in Bloom phone 0161 253 5266.

ENDS

Press release issued: 3 December 2018.

Picture: The Mayor of Bury, Councillor Jane Black, with the winners of the gardening and poster competitions.