Rotary in Frome organised a ‘Best Garden in Frome’ competition in the summer and the winners have been announced.
The competition had two categories, for adults and also children under 16. The adults’ competition was won by Otto and Jenni Townsend of Beechwood Avenue. Joint winners, Holly Barrett and Lydia Morgan, won the children’s competition.
A winner’s shield was presented to Otto and Jenni Townsend by Len and Shirley Hill. The children’s prize was £50 garden vouchers. The winners also received framed photographs of their gardens. A Rotary prize bottle of champagne was also presented by Ron Crossman.
Rotary in Frome say, “With Frome Festival and Hidden Gardens cancelled and Frome Show cancelled, it was thought this would be a good idea to allow Frome to show off the work they would have been doing in their gardens during lockdown. It is also good for the three Rotary Clubs to be able to work together and raise some funds for POD and Wessex Counselling.”
Over £500 was raised for the two charities from competition entry fees.
The Frome gardeners sent photographs of their gardens and these were judged by Maureen Hinton (chair of the horticultural section of Frome Show), Ray Carver, chair of Frome in Bloom and Pat Doel of Frome in Bloom.
Winners Otto and Jenni Townsend said, “We have been keen gardeners for many years and have been custodians of this garden since we moved here in 2005. Our split level garden has as its centre piece an old, beautiful and very productive apple tree. We have developed the surrounding area with lawns, herbaceous borders, roses, topiary and grasses.
“We are delighted to have been chosen as winners, and to have the opportunity to share our passion and hopefully inspire others. We are grateful to the Rotary clubs for putting on this competition and thank them for the framed photograph and the lovely shield.
Holly said, “It feels great to come joint first in the garden competition and I’m really pleased. I love how I spent all my time in lockdown outside in the garden. It was really good because it was nice being responsible for my garden, as I had to care for it every day and it’s great getting out into nature.
Holly’s parents said, “We are so proud of Holly and the effort she put into her garden throughout lockdown. We particularly enjoyed all the vegetables she provided for us!”
The winners received their prizes from the presidents of the three Rotary Clubs in Frome and Rotarian, Len Hill, who sponsored the shield.
Jenny Bennett President of Frome Selwood Rotary Club said, “Congratulations to all the winners! Great to see the three Rotary Clubs in Frome working in harmony on this project. The standard of the photographs shows people want to show off all their wonderful gardens.”
David Millard said, “As president of Frome Show I was delighted that we were able to provide the prizes for the children’s section. Not only did the competition satisfy perfectly the charitable aims and objects of the society, but also provided us with an opportunity to recognise the help given by Rotarians to our annual show.”
