Awards celebrate Shrewsbury's blooming great gardens

Following hot-on-the-heels of last week’s announcement that Shrewsbury has the greenest fingers in the UK, having being crowned Champion of Champions by the Royal Horticultural Society, the town’s horticultural finest were once again proving why there can be only one Town of Flowers.

Shrewsbury’s top gardeners, including residents and businesses, gathered at the town’s Guildhall for a glittering ceremony to announce the winners of this year’s contest.

Competitors battled it out in a range of categories including best residential front garden, best container/hanging basket and community achievement. Entries were judged throughout the summer by members of the Shrewsbury in Bloom committee.

The winners were:

Commercial Categories
Class 1 Pubs/Restaurants/Cafés/Hotels/B&Bs:
Gold – Abbots Mead Hotel, St Julian’s Friars
Silver – Prince Rupert Hotel, Butcher Row

Class 2 Other Commercial/Business Premises:
Gold – Pughs Funeral Directors, Longden Coleham
Silver – Callaghan Fine Paintings, St Mary’s Street
Bronze – Terry Jones Solicitors, Abbey Foregate
Highly Commended – Morris Leisure, Welshpool Road
Highly Commended – Frank Painter & Sons, Spring Gardens
Highly Commended – Clive Pugh Funeral Directors, Abbey Foregate

Residential Categories
Class 3 Residential Front Garden:
Gold – Doug Puddle, Vennington Walk
Silver – Mr & Mrs Weather head, Edgefield Green
Silver – Mr David Baguley, Copthorne
Silver – Mr & Mrs Lewis, Edgefield Green
Silver – Mr & Mrs Pugh, Crowmere Road
Bronze – Betty Jackson, Meole Estate
Bronze – Mr J Gregson, Crowmere Road
Bronze – Pat Clewes, Meadow Farm Drive
Bronze – Mr & Mrs Evans, Crowmere Road
Highly Commended – Mr & Mrs Lawrence, Langholm Drive
Highly Commended – Dennis Sherwood, Monkmoor
Highly Commended – Mr & Mrs Porter, Conway Drive
Commended – Mr & Mrs Beasty, Monkmoor
Commended – Mr & Mrs Baker, Manor Way
Commended – Terry Adams, Meadow Farm Drive
Commended – The Occupier, 121 Monkmoor Road

Class 4 Container Garden/Hanging Basket(s):
Gold – Mr & Mrs Brooks, Worcester Road
Silver – Mr & Mrs Lewis, Edgefield Green
Bronze – Mr & Mrs Weatherhead, Edgefield Green
Highly Commended – Mr J Gregson, Crowmere Road
Commended – Mr & Mrs Hadden, Edgefield Green
Commended – Eileen Emberton, Edgefield Green
Commended – Mr & Mrs Owen, Edgefield Green
Commended – Mr Andrew Beddoes, Edgefield Green
Commended – Margaret Bowman, Belmont
Class 5 Community Garden/Achievement Award:
Winner – Edgefield Greenfingers Garden Club
Highly Commended – Carol Dodman, Worcester Road

Class 6 Young Gardener
Winner – Alice White

Allotments
Championship Cup:
Winner – Beryl Pitchford (Meole Brace Stanley lane Plot No.43)

Best Half Plot:
Winner – David Baguley (Bowbrook Plot No.29)
Runner Up – Bill Parton (Column Plot No.4A)

Outstanding Crops:
Best Carrots and Parsnips – Eric Hill (Monkmoor Plot No.55)

Schools Competition
Unusual Floral Containers:
1st place – Oxon CE Primary School
2nd place – The Grange Primary School
3rd place – The Wilfred Owen School
Highly Commended – Greenfields Primary School
Highly Commended – Mereside CE Primary School

Wildlife Garden:
1st place – Oxon CE Primary School
2nd place – The Wilfred Owen School
3rd place – Greenacres Primary School
Highly Commended – Belvidere CE Primary School

Young Gardener Award:
Winner – Alice White, Greenfields Primary School

Special Award for Best Edible Garden:
Greenfields Primary School

Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Beverley Baker, who presented the awards said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the blooming green fingered people of Shrewsbury. We are so very lucky to have such dedicated people, who enjoy making the most of spaces large and small, creating wonderful displays and proving an ability to grow a rich variety of plants to look at and also to eat. Thank you to everyone who entered and, all I can say is, Keep on Growing!”