Moreton Park Garden Centre won a large gold medal and the prestigious Best in Show title for their show garden at Shrewsbury Flower Show last week.
The garden, titled “Good Enough to Eat”, was designed and built by Paul Farry, the centre’s sundries manager and buyer.
Judging took placed following submission of a brief and sketch plan and construction of a small garden within the show ground. Alyson Haywood, general manager at Moreton Park, said: “We are delighted…it is testament to the hard work that was put in. The show is a great, local annual event that we are proud to be a part of.”
Some 45,000 visitors viewed the exhibit, an ornamental garden in which all the plants were edible; 95% of the plants used were grown from seed organically in Vital Earth multi-purpose peat-free compost donated by Bord na Móna. The garden demonstrated how edible plants could be used to provide a stunning ornamental display.
The garden contained a summer house to provide structure and height and a modern water feature to act as a focal point. The edible garden contained many unusual varieties of fruits and vegetables, including almost extinct Welsh varieties of apple trees. White strawberries, purple chillies, popcorn and ‘rat tail’ radish were all grown from seed and proudly displayed...all good enough to eat.
Paul Farry said: “I hope the garden gave others the inspiration to ‘grown your own’. Home-grown fruit and vegetables promote greener and more sustainable living. Apart from anything else, it is a rewarding activity, when you eat the fruits of your labour”
Paul represented the garden centre as a guest panellist alongside TV presenter Chris Beardshaw at the ‘Gardening Time’ question and answer session in the lecture marquee at the show.
Sponsors of the award winning show garden included Bord na Móna, Sutton Seeds and Zest 4 Leisure.
www.moretonpark.com/gc
