This year’s Wight in Bloom Awards came to a climax on Tuesday when the presentation ceremony was held at the Green House in Ryde, the renowned energy-saving HQ of Liz Earle.
Iain Griffiths, Chairman of Visit Isle of Wight welcomed guests and said that there had been a total of 110 entries in this year’s competition. Judging took place between June and July, with 20% of the points available attributed to sustainability.
Alan Titchmarsh MBE, Patron of Wight in Bloom, was on hand to present the prizes saying that he always enjoys places that have good gardens and he was really pleased to see entries from children and younger people.
Following the presentation on Tuesday evening, Alan was on our TV screens when a new series of ‘Secrets of the National Trust’ began its run on Channel 5. He revealed that the first episode featuring Petworth House boasted no less than 20 paintings by Turner, more than any gallery. Of course, gardens feature heavily in NT properties as was evident in these local awards.
Wight in Bloom 2019 – Winners
Small Front Garden: Won by Sandy Crump of Newport. A real show-stopper with a variety of plants and shrubs. Sandy said that the answer lay with plenty of manure spread across the plots early in the year. Natural material is so much better than purchased fertilisers.
Large Front Garden: Described as a lovely garden with a huge range of trees including oranges and lemons which are moved indoors in Winter. A credit to Francis Brett from Binstead.
Small Tourist Attraction: Head gardener Robert Moore and his volunteer team at Mottistone Manor (NT) should be applauded for a successful regime of sustainability with minimal watering and their creative gardening.
Large Tourist Attraction: Robin Hill Country Park scored highly on sustainability. Its essence is some wonderful planting.
Small Commercial Garden: This category featured a battle between three properties in Shanklin. Overall winner of the category was The Clifton, which was described as a delightful, well-established seaside hotel with no empty garden spaces and an emphasis on wildlife.
Large Commercial Garden: Joint winners were featured in this category – The Royal Hotel, Ventnor was deemed a great demonstration of a national jewel, whilst Haven Hall, Shanklin was a delight featuring landscapes, seascapes and roaming chickens.
Pride of Place (Community Garden): Bembridge War Memorial Garden had an excellent impact with interesting and innovative planting which was very well maintained.
Young People’s Initiative: Pupils at St. George’s School, Newport created a new garden in a formerly austere area.
Best Edible Garden: When judges visited some Ryde Allotments last year Keith Bloomfield’s nearby plot caught their eye and they advised him to enter in 2019. So, it was no surprise that his tremendous effort and innovation was rewarded this year.
Container Garden: This section had the most entries with sixteen. Mr. & Mrs. Smallman from Shanklin took the honours with their entry which was brimming with bees and butterflies on judging day.
Care-giving Complex: With little resources a small grey corner of Clifton House, Cowes has been transformed with colourful planting and innovative recycling of containers.
Judges awarded Jeane Minx from Ventnor with the Hidden Gem Special Award for her efforts.
90-years-young Francis Brett from Binstead was described as epitomising Wight in Bloom as he secured the Peggy Jarman Trophy as the overall winner. His entry was an exceptional effort with an immaculate lawn and scented flowers. Only recently has he had a little help from his daughter but otherwise looked after the 1 acre plus on his own.
Francis said that he liked growing both flowers and vegetables, but the former were easier to look after because a fox insists on attacking the veg.
Alan Titchmarsh ended proceedings by encouraging the audience to keep growing things with their forks, spades, hoes and trowels.
