Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Tina takes a bow with her prize-winning city garden
This summer, anyone passing 1 Cambridge Road, Canterbury, will have marvelled at the hundreds of colourful flowering pots and hanging baskets on display.
They are the work of school cook Tina Titheridge and husband James, whose efforts have now landed her the top award in the 2016 Canterbury Community in Bloom (CCB) contest.
This year, instead of the judges walking the streets looking for impressive gardens, organisers invited entries, and Tina and James’s was one of more than 55 they visited.
The nine categories ranged from best basket to best community garden. Tina won best hanging baskets and containers and was voted the overall winner to receive the Maurice Mason Cup at the recent presentation evening at the United Reformed Church in Canterbury.
Tina, who works at Simon Langton Girls School, said: “I’m really pleased. We planted around 300 pots and baskets, which was a lot of hard work but we just love it. We are always getting compliments from people passing the house, which is nice, and it helps to brighten up the street.”
The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Canterbury, Cllr George and Lillian Metcalfe, handed out the awards and congratulated all the gardeners for making their neighbourhoods look nice.
CCB president Paul Kennett said the standard of entries had been very high despite challenging conditions, including cold, wet weather and a heatwave.
He thanked Dave Austin from Serco’s parks and gardens department for judging, and congratulated last year’s winner Darren Keem on being so encouraged by his success that he started up his own garden business.
The competition should not be confused with Canterbury in Bloom, organised by the Canterbury Connected Business Improvement District, which focuses on business and community group’s efforts to make the city look splendid, and which recently earned a gold award in the South and South East in Bloom contest.