The great and even greater of Lydd’s gardening fraternity gathered last week at the Guildhall to celebrate their efforts in this year’s Lydd-in-Bloom competition.
The evening’s proceedings began with a welcome from the town’s Mayor, Cllr Bob Jones before handing over to Town Clerk Angela Alexander to announce the winners in the various categories. The ever fragrant County Councillor Carole Waters was on hand to present certificates and vouchers to the gifted green-fingered gardeners.
Also present was Jason Ellis who had stepped in for Roger Hooper of the Lydd Allotment Association, which has supported the competition from the beginning – Jason sporting a shirt which could easily have been lifted from Mr Hooper’s well-known collection of suitably bright and colourful shirts.
The full list of winners and the value of their well-earned vouchers is as follows:
- Lydd Allotments
1st: Plot 17C – Mrs K Howard (£15)
2nd: Plot 79D (£10)
3rd: Plot 89A – Mr & Mrs A Webb (£5) - Town Business
1st: The George Hotel (£15) - Coastal Business
Mr & Mrs P Trodd (£15) - Town Baskets & Tubs
1st: Mr V Rye (£15)
Jnt 2nd: Mr & Mrs Kimber (£10)
Jnt 2nd: Mr B Morgan (£10) - Coastal Garden
1st: Mr & Mrs H Elliott (£15)
2nd: Mr & Mrs Shrubsole (£10)
3rd: Mr & Mrs A Collins (£5) - Town Garden Runners-up
Jnt 1st: Mr D Bourne (£15)
Jnt 1st: Mr & Mrs K Redshaw (£15)
Mr & Mrs G Mann (£5)
Mr & Mrs M Wilkinson (£5)
Mr & Mrs J Whiteside (£5)
Ms B Wickson (£5)
Mr & Mrs R Whiting (£5)
Taking the Best Garden and Best Overall Winner once again were Mr & Mrs Elliott who went away with a £20 voucher, the Winner’s Rose Bowl (to keep for a year) and a Special Award Cup which marked Mr Elliott’s success for three years running. Mr Elliott was, however, a little coy about the secret of his gardening prowess. “It’s important to keep changing your compost,” he told The Looker. “And I’ve introduced plants which don’t need much water – but I’m not telling you what they are! I’ve noticed that the climate has changed on the Marsh over the last few decades so I have had to adapt. The only pesticides I use are slug pellets, but otherwise I let nature do the work.”
“This was difficult to judge this year, as the standard just gets better and better,” Cllr Waters told us, “but it’s great that we are now getting rows of houses entering the competition – eventually I hope we will have whole streets competing for honours and making Lydd look lovely!”
Lydd Town Council funded and awarded the total of £210 in gift vouchers to the winners of this year’s Lydd in Bloom competition and Councillors were impressed by the support the residents and local businesses show for the competition. The planting schemes provide a wide range of benefits including the improvement of the local environment.
