Lockdown gardens celebrated
Holyport: Village Show winners
Exhibits entered in the Holyport Village Show garden competition were judged on Saturday.
Usually the annual show, with multiple classes in various groups, would take place at Holyport War Memorial Hall in September but due to the coronavirus pandemic this year it has been cancelled.
However, the garden group which is usually judged at this time of year, still went ahead and with people spending more time in their gardens during lockdown there was an increase in entries.
Holyport Village Show chairman, Andy Birrell, said: “We did have more, we always want more, because it’s nice to see a variety.”
Judging the competition was Tessa Hastings, who runs her business, The Holyport Florist, from home.
Tessa awarded Brian Lovejoy first place in the garden exhibit; Gill Birrell won first place for her hanging basket; and
The coronavirus cancelled the Holyport Show this year but the show’s garden competition still went ahead. Entries were judged on Saturday.
for the second consecutive year Andy scooped first place for his upcycled container.
Normally the show requirement is ‘any old outdoor container’ but this year the focus was up-cycling, with Andy planting in a crate which used to carry patio slabs.
Other entries included upcycled laundry baskets.
It is hoped in 2021 the show will go ahead as normal, but Andy says ‘you don’t know what’s going to happen with the coronavirus’.
“We would want to run a show next year, even if we can’t run the show as we’d like to, so we will improvise.
“This year we thought ‘no, this is obviously a new virus, let’s can it completely’ because it’s held in a village hall.”