Garden competition 2018 – results!

The ‘most improved’ garden

Congratulations to the winning gardener in each street and especially to Christine at 4 Bell Place for having ‘the best garden in the Stockbridge Colonies’ this year.  Photos of the winning gardens can be seen on our Facebook page.

Many thanks to our judge for her time and this report:

Bridge Place & Reid Terrace (H) – 25 Reid Terrace
A very attractive, inviting, neat and tidy garden with a good range of healthy, lush plants of predominantly blues and whites. The well-tended pots and the stone ornaments sit well within this garden.
Reid Terrace (L) & Hugh Miller Place (L) – 13 Hugh Miller Place
A lovely garden with formal layout and formal elements such as the clipped box soft pyramids well placed within the whole setting. There is good use of colour, not being too loud in the dark-leaved setting of well-tended plants. The dark green shed blends well with dark green foliage.
Hugh Miller Place (L) & Rintoul Place (L) – 19 Hugh Miller Place
A lovely purple Clematis covers an arch inviting you into this gorgeous, lush, well-maintained garden. A great range of plants with plenty of colour but not too brash.
Rintoul Place (L) & Colville Place (L) – 4 Colville Place
A rustic garden with a range of plants including some vegetables and fruit mixed within the planting. Lots of pots and containers add seasonal colour. Clearly a well-loved garden. Love the little compost bin!
Colville Place (H) & Collins Place (H) – 30 Collins Place

An interesting garden full of mature shrubs giving it height and a great range of different textured leaves. The use of containers adds interest in this well-sheltered garden enhances the space.
Collins Place (L) & Balmoral Place (H) – 3 Collins Place (Commended)
An arch with sweet peas at the entrance leads you into this private, very well-maintained and well laid out garden. Great range of interesting plants and the pots, troughs and containers that add to the interest. Bird baths and bird attracting features really add to the interest. Matching paintwork on gate, shed and wood blends nicely so not detracting from the plants. It’s clear great pride is taken with this garden.
Balmoral Place (L) & Dunrobin Place (H) – 21 Dunrobin Place
Very interesting garden with great use of natural and weathered objects, rustic wooden features and seating area and especially the wood and washed brick climbing structure. Lots of fruit and veg and good companion planting as well as ornamentals, and added to that, plants in containers. The raised stone and wood figure 8 covered with and surrounding lawn is certainly different! A very interesting garden with lots going on.

Dunrobin Place (L) & Teviotdale Place (H) – 18 Teviotdale Place
A garden with lots of interest and plenty of colour and use of annuals such as Nasturtiums and sweet peas. This is a well-screened and enclosed garden with a well-tended range of all sorts of plants. Plenty of pots and window boxes fill all available space and even the vertical space is utilised with climbing plants covering both the building and staircase walls.
Teviotdale Place (L) & Avondale Place (H) – 8 Teviotdale Place
Gorgeous garden with lots of colourful flowers. The space is used very well and utilities well screened, with lush ivy over fence. The well-tended, shaped low hedge sets off this lovely garden nicely.
Avondale Place (L) & Kemp Place (H) – 18 Kemp Place
A lovely, neat and tidy garden with mature shrubs. Some are nicely clipped shaped which adds additional interest to the textures, depth and height. Impressive mature Clematis’ soften the stair railings and add vertical interest. Would like to see that when in flower!
Kemp Place (L) & Bell Place (H) – 30 Bell Place
A very neat, tidy and pleasant garden, with brick patio and edging and an inviting seating area in the corner. There is good use of plants and containers including beside the front door. The white staircase wall looks especially good and shows off the Lavender against it.
Bell Place (L) & Glenogle Place, Ho, Terrace
4 Bell Place (Overall Winner)

A gorgeous, lush garden packed with a great variety of plants that are very chosen well for their situation. There is a lovely little pond and bird feeders to encourage wildlife. Cosy seated area under the Acer with seats and a table where there is more light. Any extra space is packed with pots, containers and baskets that burst with colour added interest. Even outside there are boxes with red Petunias that add seasonal interest amidst the permanent plants on the fence. Lots to look at in such a small space with so many healthy, well-tended plants.
4 Glenogle Terrace (Commended)
This is a delightful garden with a gorgeous colourful border beneath the very challenging high wall (itself clad in climbers that add vertical interest to the garden). The Clematis climbing up the washing line shows there is nowhere a plant isn’t allowed to grow. The painted shed nestles unobtrusively within the foliage and the tree beside the entrance, which could dominate if left to its own devices has an extremely interesting shape that fits really well in the garden.The use of containers adds to the interest. This garden demonstrates a clear love of plants and gardening.
17 Balmoral Place (Most Improved Garden)
Lots of work has been put into this garden with a wealth of annuals and borders packed with plants. In the lower area there is a wealth of containers adding colour and interest to the decked area. The young Acer planted into the bark should grow up to look fantastic in the future and there are plenty of shrubs around the garden that could provide a great backdrop to any future planting.