News

19 August 2010

Blooming Marvellous Gardens Judged by Derwentside Homes

First prize best garden winner Audrey Eland pictured with Geraldine Wilcox Green fingered tenants put their horticultural skills to the test by entering their most prized hanging baskets and floral displays into a competition judged by Derwentside Homes.

The Best Kept Garden competition, which is now in its second year running, is open to all tenants and aims to encourage people to share an interest in gardening and take pride in their local environment.

Grandmother-of-six Audrey Eland, 68, is celebrating after being crowned the overall winner in the “Best Kept Garden” category for creating her own English Country garden bursting with fruit trees, a pond and vegetable patch.

Audrey, of Whitehouse Avenue in Burnhope, County Durham, demonstrated a flair for gardening at the tender age of seven.

She said: “I’m really pleased to win first prize, it’s fantastic news - in fact, I would have been delighted with third prize.

“I love gardening and spend two hours on it every day, except for Sundays when I have the day off. I also like to grow all my own produce as the garden starts with a flower garden and leads down to a greenhouse where I plant everything from seed.”

She continued: “I’ve also got a fig tree in the garden which my husband once brought back for me from a holiday in Bulgaria. We’ve also got a pond and gazebo in the garden and we like to sit outside drinking coffee with family and friends. I’m actually a retired cleaner but my interest in gardening grew when I was a child thanks to my father who taught me the difference between flowers and weeds.”

Audrey now plans to spend her £150 prize money on new flowers and plants for the greenhouse.

The pensioner’s success was closely matched by George Dodds, 75, who scooped first prize in the “Containers and Hanging Baskets” category for his colourful containers filled with petunias and begonias.

George, 75, of Raby Gardens in Burnopfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: “My friends and family are all very proud of me and I’m over the moon to win this prize.

“I’ve been interested in gardening since I was young and plan to give half my £60 prize money to my wife Beatrice who helps me out in the garden a lot, and spend the other half on compost.”

The son of Winston Churchill’s chief gardener Arthur Hilland, of Rittson Road in Consett, won last year’s competition.
Geraldine Wilcox, the Chief Executive of Derwentside Homes, said: “This year’s competition has been every bit as successful as last year’s and it gives me great pleasure to see how many of our tenants have a natural flair for gardening. Audrey and George thoroughly deserve to win as they put a lot of time and effort into the competition producing fantastic results.”


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