Phoenix has bloomed, and the judges have spoken...

Earlier this year, we gave away 100 free gardening kits to help more residents find their green fingers and get gardening. The kits came with pots, compost, three beginner-friendly seed packets and instructions – everything needed to spruce up a balcony, style out a windowsill or make a garden gorgeous. And to celebrate these budding gardeners we added an extra category just for those who collected and planted their free gardening kit. As a result, we had three times as many entries this year! 

Residents from across the Phoenix area sent in photos of their entries and those shortlisted were visited by our expert judges, residents Pat and Eileen and Phoenix Estates Supervisor, Ben. The judges scored each entry based on colour, arrangement, profusion and use of space, among other things. 

The judges have spoken, and the winners are... 

Best Residential Garden  

Winner: Stephen Fuller 

The judges said: “Truly a garden for everyone with a huge array of flowers, plants, fruit and vegetables. There are multiple sections that provide something for everyone. Also, a lovely big pond so you can sit and listen to the water running whilst having a nice relaxing evening.” 

Best Balcony Display  

Winner: Marjorie Lawrence 

The judges said: “We were impressed with all the balconies we saw, and it was nice to see such an array of flowers and colours in small spaces. However, there can be only one winner, who for this category was chosen for the positioning and care of the flowers and variety of plants on display.” 

Best Young Gardener 

Winner: Annabella Biggs (pictured centre)

Runner-up: Layla Paice 

Runner-up: Mya Cummins 

The judges said: “It was incredibly hard to choose with all this year’s young gardeners doing an amazing job. You should all be proud.” 

Best Residential Community Garden 

Winner: Hazelhurst Court Extra Care Scheme 

The judges said: “A superb effort from the residents at Hazlehurst. They have made their communal garden a beautiful place to be. A huge array of plants and flowers, tidy and very welcoming. You can imagine it being lovely and calming for the residents and visitors alike.” 

Best Fruit and/or Vegetable Plot or Allotment 

Winner: Farmstead Community Garden 

The judges said: “This place is always a breath of fresh air amid a busy neighborhood. There was a huge choice of fruits and vegetables and a massive input of flowers this year which has given the place a lovely array of colours to add to the green.” 

Most Improved 

Winner: Edyta Grad 

The judges said: “A superb effort and great outcome in a large space, we were very impressed.” 

Runner-up - Bob Hennessey 

The judges said: “An amazing job. Bob made the most out of what was previously a blank concrete square and had made it full of colour and life, warm, relaxing and very welcoming.” 

Best gardening kit display 

Winners: Tiliah and Tate Allen 

The Judges said: “Great job! We love to see children getting involved with gardening, they have done a great job and should be proud of their efforts.” 

Judge’s Special Prize winner: Linda Ciortan 

The judges said: “We choose this place thinking of all that has happened in the last two years during the pandemic. The garden is a perfect spot for socialising and relaxing, it’s spacious yet cosey with a nice array of plants and flowers and made even more colourful with all the added extras like signs, lights and other garden decorations. A very warm, welcoming garden.” 

This year’s winners were invited to an awards ceremony and handed their prizes by Phoenix resident and Vice Chair of the Board, Simon Barlow, who said: “It was honour to hand out this year's awards. Phoenix in Bloom is a really great opportunity to show the community how we can come together through activities such as gardening. A little goes a long way to brighten and bring some colour to our area. It was great to see so many young people enter this year. I really want to thank all the entrants for their time and effort taken and congratulations to this year's winners!” 

Congratulations to this year’s winners! Thank you to everyone who entered and to our judges. 

If you missed your chance to enter this year, don’t worry, our annual gardening competition will return in 2023! Look out for more information on our website, social media our newsletters. Or you can sign up to receive tailored email updates from us and never miss a piece of news again!