Winning Royal Greenwich In Bloom Gardeners Bring Colour And Delight

by our Staff Reporter | Greenwich

After another tough competition, the winners of the 2015 Greenwich in Bloom competition have been revealed.

Mr and Mrs O’Rourke of Openshaw Road, Abbey Wood have taken the top prize for ‘Front garden with best summer colours’ and ‘Best hanging baskets and window boxes’.

They also took second place in ‘Best front landscape design garden’.

Mrs O’Rourke speaking about the key to a good garden said it’s no real secret: “You’ve just got to love and enjoy gardening. An eye for colour is important, no need to worry about understanding flowers and plants, just stick them in a pot and hope for the best."

“Maybe my top tip is to get flowers that bloom together so it’s possible to have a summer garden full of flowers”.

Mr and Mrs O’Rourke vow to be back next year and are going to up their game with the back garden in hopes of picking up another prize.

Patricia Burberry of Riefield Road, Eltham took the top spot in the categories of ‘Front garden with the best landscape design and creative use of plants’ and ‘Best back garden with creative use of colour and plants’.

Miss Burberry, whose favourite flower is the perennial geranium said that “No garden should be without them,” adding “The best tip for aspiring gardeners is persistence. However, a deep seated passion for gardening probably helps.”

Cllr Jackie Smith, Royal Greenwich Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Environment, said: “Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Greenwich in Bloom and to everyone who took part."

“Once again it’s amazing to see so many people taking time to help make the royal borough look bright and beautiful. Tending to a garden, balcony, or window box is a wonderful hobby and I’d encourage anyone to find time to do so."

“Residents of the borough without a garden can look into getting an allotment or become a friend of a local park and help maintain our parks and open spaces to make even more areas of the borough look amazing.”

For details of the full list of winners go to www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/inbloom or simply click on: Greenwich in Bloom.