CRiB Front Garden Competition Results

There were 22 fantastic entries in this year's CRiB (Curry Rivel in Bloom) Front Garden Competition, making the village look fantastic, here are the winners.......
First — Emma Burt, Chatham Close

It was noted that the colours used and the different recycled materials which were incorporated into the design were excellent, as was the condition of the garden.

Joint Second — Derek Annetts, Spirales & Marie Trimmer, Hoskins Close

Spirales demonstrated a good use of colour using mainly annual plants combined with some effective foliage planting resulting in a good use of a limited garden space.

Hoskins Place told a moving story of the Great War in two stages which took the visitor to a calm and contemplative garden area with appropriately peaceful planting and restful colours.

Third Place — Kevin Loe & Annette Stein, Fircroft

This demonstrated innovative use of colour of the containers in combination with the planting creating an eye catching feature on the roadside verge

Highly Commended Certificates

• 5 Stanchester Way — Neat with good recycling aspects and colour
• 20 Stanchester Way — Well planted and maintained garden with a good variety of planting.
• Fairview — Good use of annual colour in pots and hanging baskets
• Linden Cottage — Innovative use of willow sculpture on tree stump providing an upright focal point in the garden.
• Townsend Cottages — all four cottages joined in . An array of colours using annual planting in window boxes and hanging baskets creating a lovely overall effect in a difficult area

Judging Process
The criteria used to assess the front gardens that were provided as the finalists are as follows :
* Colours reflecting the theme of Peace — looking for harmony colours especially including whites, pinks and pale blues.
* Horticultural Excellence — Plant combinations, variety of plants used, form and textures and quality of plants
* Design — Suitability of design for available space, impact and initial impression
* Environmentally & Pollinator friendly — Use of Recycled materials and selection of pollinator planting
* Garden condition — garden maintenance and tidiness
There were 5 points available for each of the above meaning a total score of 25 was available. (The scores were based on the current RHS judging criteria ie 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Satisfactory and 1 = Poor).

The scores for the finalist gardens were very close — only 5 points separated the top and bottom scores