"Cascades of colour" bring success for Rothwell residents in YHA In Bloom competition
Green-fingered tenants at two of York Housing Association’s properties in Pasture View Road, Rothwell, are celebrating this week after their stunning floral displays secured wins for the Best Container Display and Best Hanging Basket Display.
Jennifer Hamill is celebrating winning the Best Container Display award – beating off stiff competition from gardeners across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire – with a veritable waterfall of colour from the balcony of her first floor flat. The perimeter of the balcony is festooned with many different varieties of flowering plant, with some of the trailing plants from above actually meeting the climbing nasturtiums in tubs below.
“I always gain immense pleasure from planting lots of flowers, and this year my new neighbours were very happy for me to extend the displays around our doorways and down the steps,” comments Jennifer, who achieved the accolade despite serious health problems over recent months. “There’s no real secret to what I do, but watering the baskets is a job and a half, with a hosepipe stretching from the kitchen sink to keep the soil moist. I’ve had to put the highest two baskets on pulley this year so that I can reach them!”
Meanwhile, only a few steps away, her neighbour Stuart Howcroft has transformed the back wall of his house into a miniature ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’ with 15 hanging baskets on the wall, and many more spread around his cottage garden. He attributes the plethora of blooms to mixing fish blood and bone in with the compost, and has created an elaborate watering system to keep the baskets in top condition.
“My wife and I used to live in an upstairs flat, so when we moved here we were determined to make the most of the garden. It was a bit of a mess when we arrived, but we turned it around quite quickly and now I am very proud of it – it has become a bit of a passion for me,” says Stuart. Indeed, alongside his spectacular floral displays, Stuart has a greenhouse packed with peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, a cold-frame with beetroot, and a plethora of herbs packed into a wooden box, which also secured him a prize for best runner up for a herb display.
“This is York Housing Association’s 50thanniversary year, so we had set our tenants the challenge not only of creating even more stunning displays than last year, but wherever possible, incorporating gold into the theme – whether with golden flowers or accessories to add a golden anniversary touch to the gardens,” comments chief executive, Julia Histon. “As ever, our keen gardeners – and some beginners, too – rose to the challenge marvellously, with some stunning displays right across the region.”
YHA board member, Ruth Brigham, had the enviable task of spending a day visiting the finest gardens to deliver their awards. “I really enjoy gardening myself, and it is hugely inspiring to see the breath-taking displays of flower, herbs, shrubs and foliage which our tenants have spent so much time lovingly cultivating,” says Ruth. “These gardeners not only create a beautiful environment for themselves, but they also really lift the mood of those living around them when they get to see these gardens and containers every time they step out of their front doors.”
The overall best garden winner was John Roberts from Lichfield Court in York, with other awards and runner-up prizes being secured by gardeners in York and Beverley.
For more details, or to see some of the photographs of the winning gardens, please visit www.yorkha.org.uk
ENDS
Links to photographs can be found below, with many more images of YHA In Bloom 2014 winners available from http://news.cision.com/york-housing-association
For further media information or photographs, please contact:
Jay Commins
Pyper York Limited
Tel: 01904 500698
Email: jay@pyperyork.co.uk
