A Cambridge gardener was nationally recognized for his green thumb efforts during the lockdown and won a prestigious competition.
Beginning gardener Kevin Thorne won the Grow Your Own category in the B&Q Gardener of the Year awards because of his impressive vegetable garden at his home in Bottisham, Cambridge, which he created with the help of his partner Rosie and has won £ 1,000 from B&Q beating thousands of entries.
As the country begins to lift lockdown restrictions, many locals are coming out with a new passion for gardening.
Around 80% of Britons have become more interested in maintaining their planters, terraces, balconies and green spaces in the past year, and thanks to B&Q’s Gardener of the Year competition, many have been able to show off their new skills.
Thorne ‘danced and walked down the stairs’ after winning the prestigious award
B&Q was joined by comedian Jim Moir in a bid to showcase the ‘real’ UK gardens, with the competition winner taking home £ 10,000.
Thorne, 31, said: “In all honesty I came to dance and jump the stairs because I was so excited to be chosen as a finalist!”
“It was quite surreal; we just didn’t believe it. We entered by sheer luck. We happened to be at B&Q in the garden center, ironically looking for more garden plants!
“We’re still very new to gardening so we never thought we would win anything. It was just fun and enjoyable to do and so it’s nice to share that with people as well.
“I think we’re still trying to figure out how we can get more wildlife into the garden as well. We recently added a small pond to try and bring in new insects and wildlife. It’s nice to branch out and do things that don’t just focus on the vegetable patch.
Thorne, who works in accounting, found his true passion for gardening during lockdown as an outlet for creative energy, and was able to take advantage of the extra time he had to put his green hands to the test.
“Lockdown was a big turning point for us with gardening,” Thorne added.
“We had this patch, and when we couldn’t get out a lot, it was a great place to be and relax and become something more usable and creative.
“I think it’s a good thing, this competition, because it raises awareness about gardening and it makes people like us, who did it for the first year, understand that we did something very well. .
Thorne works in the accounting industry – but developed a fervent passion for gardening during the lockdown
“We got into something and were able to pull it off and win something, which we didn’t think. We’re going to have to improve our game next year!
Gardening has certainly been a haven for many who have struggled with foreclosure over the past year, and the competition is a relief for gardening enthusiasts who missed the Chelsea Flower Show.
Award-winning garden designers Matt Childs and Humaira Ikram and B&Q Outdoor Category Director Steve Guy joined Moir on the jury.
Guy said, “At B&Q, our mission is to respond to each of our customers individually by providing them with a wide range of quality plants, enabling them to create incredible outdoor spaces. In launching the B&Q Gardener of the Year contest, we sought to celebrate gardens of all shapes and sizes that we see with all of our winners.
The British drew inspiration for their gardens from many different places. 37% turned to garden centers like B&Q for advice, while 27% asked their parents and 26% took to social media platforms as more young people tried their hand at gardening.
B&Q threw the rulebook out the window when it comes to what makes a garden the “best in the show” – as Thorne Vegetable Sanctuary proves.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-11 13:33:14
