Civic Trust Garden Awards 2004

Rolleston Civic Trust organisers and judges have finished brushing the soil from their hands and can declare the results of the garden awards in the village. For the Back Garden Competition:

• The judges were sufficiently impressed with the garden of Bob & Wynne Essery, Green Ridge, Anslow Lane to award them first place (and hence get their names engraved on the Forest Shield). “Very well thought out, with enough space between for plants to be shown to advantage. Lovely use of yellow in flowers and leaves. Well balanced with unity.” Truly a labour of love over the last ten years.

•  Runners-up are: Mr R Huntley, 26 Shotwood Close with a well-planned lovely new garden. Harold Finch, 18 The Lawns: “Very pleasing low maintenance garden with interesting mixture of leaf textures and plant shapes. Lovely acers.”

The judges volunteered helpful comments on each of the entrants’ gardens. 

For the Front Garden Award, the judges considered all Rolleston gardens. The results were:

• Winners of the Shelly Cup are David and Susan Woodman of 107A Knowles Hill: “Good colour all year, immaculate lawn, well worth the walk up the hill to view”. 

• Runners-up are Sandra Hickman, Cornerways Cottage, Anslow Lane: “A lovely cottage garden in keeping with the building, well-mixed planting.” 
  Barbara Harrison, 20 The Lawns: “Immaculate and colourful bedding/baskets. Every year, we have been delighted with this garden”.

In the short list for ‘highly commended/near misses’ – no particular order – are:

Roystan, 9 Croft Close “baskets, tubs and lawn & pond, very pretty”
1 School Lane ”good use of small space, very effective colour scheme”
54 Beacon Road “interesting use of shrubs”
11 Beacon Drive “as before: colourful, bird-friendly, delightful” 
19 Beacon Drive “encouragement for anyone who has a small triangle of garden”
15 Knowles Hill “bedding colourful and interesting rockery”

A ‘special mention’ is made for Parrs Patch, 32 Beacon Road (Ian and Muriel Parr) “for the novelty value: a little ‘quirky’ and colourful down to the ‘wellie boots’.”

We hope present the awards to the two winners at the 15 Sept meeting of RCT at the Spread Eagle.

We are very grateful to our two sets of judges for their careful deliberations – (Carol Tillett & Bill Carnell – Back Gardens; Sue Davies & Judy Clarke – Front Gardens). It’s nice that they stressed how much they had enjoyed their task. 

NB. Some people with rather private front gardens may wish to be discounted from the Award process. If relevant to you, please let us know for future occasions (Tel. Roger Gawthorpe 812621 or Heather Taylor 812118).

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Last updated: 19 December 2004