Shildon residents are being invited to take part in a Blooming Best Garden Competition with eight categories and an array of prizes on offer.
A Council spokesperson for the competition said, “Our gardens and yards around Shildon are wonderful spaces. Throughout the Covid pandemic they have provided a much-needed space to appreciate the wonders of nature. Your Town Councillors have been noticing, and commenting upon, the hard work that people put into gardens they have seen around the town, and really appreciate the cumulative effect this creates in making Shildon a brighter and more beautiful place to live and work. We thought this something worth celebrating this summer, so have created the Shildon’s Blooming Best Gardens Competition, and we would love as many people as possible to join in the celebration.”
Though Councillors will be scouting their wards and encouraging gardeners to enter, we know that not everyone’s hard work is easily seen. Much of it lies hidden to the rear of properties or behind fences, but we are hoping that you will enter our competition and help show the world how beautiful Shildon really is.
It is not just about people’s homes. We want to see the best work of our traders and community groups too and have created categories especially for them. For those younger nature enthusiasts, we’ve created an additional special category where they can show us how they are helping Shildon’s gardeners by encouraging a rich diversity of insects to help plants – we’d love them to create and send photographs of ‘bug hotels’ they have made for your gardens.
Entering the competition is easy and can be done by completing the online form by clicking this link, which will also allow you to submit a photograph of your garden etc. for our judging panel to admire and consider. Alternatively, you can enter via an Entry Form to be published soon in the Town Crier; dropping or posting your form and your photograph to the Town Council Offices.
Though this celebration is a competition, and we are offering prizes worth hundreds of pounds in total, this is not only about whether your garden, outdoor sanctuary or bug hotel is the best. It is about how wonderful our town is when we all show it a little love and care. We will issue a certificate to thank everyone who takes part – so please do.