It's that time of year again! We want to thank all of the entrants for joining in and helping make this year’s Community Garden Competition a success. We’ve received so many heart-warming and inspirational entries this year. We deeply appreciate everyone who has shared their local community's story with us.

So why wait any longer? Keep reading to discover who are our community garden winners!

Snowshill Drive Community Garden

Snowshill Drive Community Garden

In 2019, Andy P. decided that a unused green space just 500m from his front door had potential.

Between donations and personal spends, in 2020 the area has been filled with wildlife-friendly shrubs and flowers. Local businesses donated a lawn mover, a recycled plastic park bench, and a local letting agent donated towards the creation of a rose garden.

Elderly folk who are unable to tend a garden, and people who suffer mental illness have become regular visitors to the garden. Now, the space is a tranquil, relaxing space for the community. Families also use the garden for picnics in the warmer months, and local workers use the space as a lunchtime retreat.

Andy wants to use the prize to help with his next project; creating a shrub border alongside the footpath.

Tadcaster Garden, North Yorkshire

Tadcaster Garden, North Yorkshire

Since 2016, Tadcrafters CIC in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire has supported a range of charities and causes. From promoting craft skills, enabling people to learn new skills and developing social networks in and around the town.

In 2020, a neglected garden (originally a 17^th Century Quaker burial ground) was taken on by the local community. This formed a new gardening group, bringing together existing and aspiring gardeners of all ages to restore the garden. The aims of the project is to create a welcoming, wildlife-friendly space for everyone to enjoy. As well as providing a place to meet, sit, chat, garden and appreciate the surroundings.

Whilst the project has the support of both the town and district councils, they have no funding resources in place. Therefore, a donation of plants and bulbs would be a very welcome boost to the plans to create a beautiful community garden.

Gretton Court Sensory Garden, Melton Mowbray

Opening Day - Gretton Court Sensory Garden, Melton Mowbray

Gretton Court is an extra care facility in Melton Mowbray, Leicester. Provided by Leicestershire County and Melton Borough Councils, the facility allows elderly and disabled residents to live independently in a safe environment with the extra support they need.

In 2017 and after 5 years of fundraising, The Friends of Gretton Court (a volunteer group) opened a sensory garden for the use of Gretton Court residents, their families and the wider local community. The garden provides a safe environment to meet and enjoy the outside in a varied garden. Designed to be friendly for the sight impaired and wheelchair users, the sounds, smells and beautiful sights in the garden have helped to stimulate memories and wellbeing, Past residents are also displayed as memory leaves on the feature stainless steel Memory Tree. During the pandemic, the garden has allowed people to meet outside safely.

The volunteer group hope that winning one of our prizes will help continue and extend the objective of the garden by displaying plants and shrubs on as wide a season as possible.