MRS GRACE DUNN of Souttergate has won the overall first prize in the Hedon in Bloom competition for 2014.
At an Awards Ceremony at the Hedon Town Hall last night attended by the Mayor and Mayoress Councillor John Dennis and Jennifer Dennis, Judge BBC Radio Humberside’s Doug Stewart awarded the certificates to the winners and the trophy to the overall winner Grace Dunn.
Grace was absolutely delighted to win but totally surprised:
“I never thought of my small back garden as ‘prize-winning’ and I only entered a few days before the competition because my neighbours suggested I did so. I didn’t expect to win anything!”
And her approach to her successful garden:
“There’s very limited space in the garden so I’ve got to be creative. Perennials form a backdrop to everything to which is added pots, containers and other plants. I change these every season.”
This was the first time that Grace had entered the competition which was a fact noted by Judge Doug Stewart in his speech at the Award Ceremony at Hedon Town Hall:
“After judging this competition for a few years, I thought I’d seen everything that the town had to offer, but then lots of new first time entries come along which just add to the number of really stunning gardens in the town.”
Doug also praised the contribution that gardening makes to the environment:
“More than the largest national park, our collective efforts in our gardens are more significant in providing habitat for wildlife especially bees and improving the places we live. If we didn’t garden the landscape would consist of overgrown bramble bush and rubbish – there’s a real power in planting that we sometimes take for granted.”
Grace was the winner of the small back garden category of the competition before being announced overall winner. Other category winners were:
Overall winners:
- Grace Dunn
- Jim and Janet Sargood
- Graham Atkins
Large back garden:
- Jim and Janet Sargood
- Graham Atkins
- John and Barbara Oldham
Small back garden:
- Grace Dunn
- Lucy Brooke
- Mr and Mrs Chris Barnett
Large front garden:
- Jim and Janet Sargood
- Graham Atkins
- John and Julie Newby
Small front garden:
- Mr and Mrs Chris Barnett
- John Thompson
- Kathleen Rusling
There were no entries in the Community Garden or Allotments categories.
It was an absolute delight being involved in the Hedon in Bloom Competition again this year as it gave me the opportunity to meet so many local experts with gardening skills at all levels, We saw a wide range of entrants’ gardens from the small bungalow plot with a blaze of colour from thousands of potted ‘annuals’ to those larger plots with perennial and shrub borders, mature specimen trees and water features. And of course it was helped enormously by the fact that we had chosen a beautiful day to do the judging.
Whilst a number of gardens had been entered previously, and hopefully will be put forward again next year, quite a few were being entered for the first time, and they are of course very welcome.
Congratulations to all who entered, and in particular the prize winners.
Jennifer and I were pleased to host the prize-giving evening at the Town Hall on Monday, and, apart from a few who were on holiday, most entrants were present we hope they had an enjoyable evening.
Thanks must go of course to Mr Doug Stewart, of Radio Humberside for taking time out to judge the gardens, and then to come to the Town Hall to present the certificates and prizes.
Last, but definitely not least I want to say a big thank you to Councillor Di Storr, for arranging, and co-ordinating the whole event. Well done Di, it all went off really well.
John Dennis
668th Mayor of Hedon