Three winners emerged victorious in the first ever Home Garden Competition held by the Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy.
The garden enthusiasts recently walked away with hefty prizes for their hard work, following the prize-giving ceremony at the National Botanical Gardens, Waterford, St. Michael.
WINNERS
They were first place winner Greta Collymore from St. Philip, who received the grand prize of $6,500; second place winner, Margaret Headley from St. Peter, who won $4,500, while third place winner, Colleen Hall-Crawford from St. John, took home $3,500.
The trio received trophies along with their monetary wins.
The brainchild of the Ministry, the competition was acclaimed by Minister Adrian Forde as underscoring the significance of green initiatives, in enhancing Barbados’ beauty and elevating environmental health.
“The Ministry is pushing for all these beautification efforts. We have also started to clean up our gullies. You’ve heard about the tree planting drive where we have planted over 500,000 trees since the Prime Minister made the announcement. All these things we are doing collectively as a government and as a caring society,” said Minister Forde.
CREATIVITY ABOUNDED
Meanwhile, National Tree Planting Coordinator, Dewyn Phillips, spoke of the imaginative creations seen in the gardens of the participants. “Some had terracing designs. Some had semi circles. Some had triangular designs. Some had the map of Barbados in the hedge. Some had a display of what looked like a dinosaur, with the hedging of their designs.
They were imaginative and they were creative. You’ll be pleased to know that these gardens had no diseases at all. That showed as an example of the care that they received from the competitors,” stressed Mr. Phillips.
Judging criteria for the Home Garden Competition included Visibility and Appeal; Design and Arrangement; Free of Weeds and Decay; Healthy Growth of Plants/Disease Free and Variety of Flowering Plants. (PR/GIS)
CAPTION: Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy, Adrian Forde, presenting an award to first place winner of the first ever Home Garden Competition, Greta Collymore of St.Philip
