Summer garden competition - prize winners!
Thank you so much to everyone who entered our summer garden competition! We loved seeing so many beautiful gardens. The judging wasn’t easy, but we’re pleased to announce the 1st prize winner...
Winner: Charlotte Busby – wins a £100 voucher
Charlotte's garden
Charlotte's garden is a wonderful example of a beautiful AND sustainable garden.
Charlotte told us about what's going on in her garden:
"I hope that my little space inspirers other people to use any green space they have, even if it’s not very big.
"I grow most of the plants from seed, including cosmos, dahlias, nigella and sweet peas. I'm also growing a few Cercis chinensis (a tree) from seed. It's more eco-friendly than buying more mature plants from garden centres!
"I use old loo rolls and newspapers to make my own pots for seed sowing to be as eco-friendly as I can. I don't use any chemicals and I only feed the plants with chicken manure, and of course use peat-free compost.
"At the back of my home I have a mini allotment, where I grow some fruit, vegetables and herbs (salad leaves, carrots, yellow courgette, tomatoes, strawberries, parsley, mint and rosemary). As well as tasting delicious, this also adds to being more eco-friendly by reducing supermarket bought food.
"In the same area as my allotment, I grow cut flowers. I have had daffodils, tulips, alliums, sunflowers, dahlias and cosmos. It’s nice to cut these and enjoy them inside the house. I will leave some of sunflowers to go to seed for the birds and wildlife and also to save the seed for next year, so I don't need to buy new seeds each year. I also use these cut flowers for birthday presents to friends and family - again much better than buying flowers from the supermarket that have a large carbon footprint.
"Finally, in the front garden, I use lots of plants to help pollinators including (but not limited to) salvia, lavender, foxgloves and sweet peas."
What the judges said about Charlotte’s gorgeous garden:
"Your little garden is gorgeous. And, WOW, you’ve done so much with the space you have!
"It’s obvious from the photos that a lot of time and love goes into it. And that a lot of thought goes into making it as sustainable as possible. There are some great ideas in there that I’m sure other customers could copy.
"Growing your own salad, fruit, veg and flowers is a real achievement, and definitely inspiring.
"The mix of wildflowers and pots at the front work really well – we imagine they make you smile every day, especially the beautiful rose."
