On Wednesday July 19, Dorset’s most wildlife friendly gardens were celebrated at Castle Gardens in Sherborne at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s annual Wildlife Friendly Garden Competition, which is sponsored by The Gardens Group.
This year’s competition not only saw a record number of entries, with over 75 gardens from schools and visitor centres to small patios and large meadows entered, but it also received entries from younger gardeners, with Charlie, the youngest contender ever to enter, (pictured left) picking up a Highly Commended in the Small Garden category.
Before the awards were announced, RHS qualified gardener and author Kate Bradbury (pictured centre) took guests on an inspiring ‘warts and all’ journey, revealing how she turned a small basement flat garden in Brighton filled with decking and concrete and not a glimpse of wildlife in sight, into a haven for local bees, butterflies and birds. Kate now receives an abundance of species into her urban garden and provided the 165-strong audience with some useful advice and tips on how to welcome life back into any sized garden.
The Gardens Group managing director Mike Burks (pictured right) commented: “Each year the bar is raised even higher and the entrants into the competition get more creative and sophisticated in their efforts to provide vital corridors for our wildlife. This year we saw more entries than ever before, and it’s an absolute pleasure to see how this way of gardening is progressing among all ages and us wildlife friendly gardeners no longer have to hide in the dark! I thoroughly enjoy visiting these gardens during the judging process and seeing the difference these wonderful havens are making to the county’s wildlife. I hope everyone left feeling proud of their efforts and inspired to keep it up.”
Wildlife Friendly Garden Competition Awards 2017
Large gardens
First place: Diana Guy from Wimborne
Second place: Meriel Peain from Preston
Third place: Michael Evans from Wimborne
Highly commended: Gillian Ringrose from Dorchester
Highly commended: David & Jo Hartgill from Gillingham
Medium gardens
First place: Christine Rashleigh-Berry from Preston
Second place: Matt Porter from Dorset
Third place: Bernard Sullivan from Bourton
Highly commended: Julian & Judith Wardlaw from Dorchester
Highly commended: Joan Timms from Shaftesbury
Small gardens
First place: Lucy Daisy Jenkins from Wimborne
Second place: Carole Irving from Maiden Newton
Third place: Margaret Bascombe from Poole
Highly commended: Charlie, Megan and Ivie from Wimborne
Gardens in rented accommodation
First place: Sarah Jane Buckle from Poole
Second place: John Arundel from Portland
Third place: Mr & Mrs Morton from Blandford Forum
Community gardens
First place: Michael House in Grosvenor Gardens, Boscombe
Second place: Jan Ayrton, Oakdale Library Gardens in Poole
Third place: Julie Yeates, Wyke Primary School in Gillingham
Highly Commended: Paul Smith, Pine Tree Bungalow in Sherborne
Highly Commended: The Residents of Drummond Wolff House in Bournemouth
