Charnwood Tenants awarded for their 'amazing gardens' in competition

There were categories for best house or flat, best window box, best hanging baskets and best communal gardens.

Council tenants from across Charnwood have been awarded in an annual garden competition.

There were 25 entries to the competition, which is run by Charnwood Borough Council.

Special recognition awards were handed out to council tenants Mark Holland, for his tireless work on the communal gardens at Chapman Street in Loughborough, and to Lee Williams from Loughborough and Vera Zahan from Shepshed for making great use of small spaces using ornaments, flower pots and lots of colour.

Councillor Colin Hamilton, lead member for public and private sector housing, also attended the event. He said: “The tenant garden competition is still going strong after over a decade, and long may it continue.

“It takes a great deal of time and effort  to make a garden great, so I applaud all the applicants for their work. They have done a fantastic job.

“Congratulations to all the award winners and thank you to everyone who entered the competition. We look forward to receiving your applications for 2024.”

This year the gardens were judged by councillors Jennifer Tillotson and Anne Gray, who were both astounded by the efforts of the tenants, and the standard across all the categories.

The categories for this year’s competition included best house or flat, best window box, balcony and pots, best hanging baskets, best communal gardens, best sheltered court garden, best fruit and vegetable garden, best newcomer and greener garden, which promotes upcycling and sustainable gardening.

The winners for 2023 were:

House or Flat

Joint third place – Mr & Mrs Dews, Alex Wallace

Second place – Frederick Miles

First place – Mick Pipes

Window Box, Balcony & Pots

Joint third place – Valeria Gould & Freda Sharpe with Tracey Wilcox, Kevin Poole

Second place – Kevin Curtis

First place – Robert Kirk

Hanging Baskets

Third place – Robert Kirk

Second place – Sarah Cole

First place – June Letten

Communal Garden

Joint third place – June Bush (Knightthorpe Road, Loughborough), Carol Airey (Longcliffe Road, Shepshed)

Second place – Philip Howard and Gabriel Haynes (Freehold Street, Loughborough)

First place – Mr Barradell (The Mills, Quorn)

Sheltered Court Garden

Third place – Doreen Pryor (Riversdale Court, Birstall)

Second place – Joy Braker (St Pauls Court, Anstey)

First place – Fielding Court, Loughborough

Fruit and Vegetable

Joint third place – Robert Kirk, Philip Howard & Gabriel Haynes

Second place – Frederick Miles

First place – Mick Pipes

Best Newcomer

Third place – Sarah Solomon

Second place – Barbara Noble

First place – Mal Summerfield

Greener Garden

Third place – Sarah Solomon

Second place – Mal Summerfield

First place – Mr & Mrs Dews

Best year-round Garden

Third place – Georgina Gebski

Joint second place – Mr & Mrs Reeve, Debbie Newton

First place – Mick Pipes

Recognition Awards

Mark Holland

Lee Williams

Vera Zahan