Shaftesbury customer’s passion shines through with award winning sustainable garden
A passionate gardener from Shaftesbury in Dorset has been recognised in SNG’s annual In Bloom awards. Willow May was the first place winner in the ‘Sustainable Garden Innovator’ category for creating an eco-friendly green space.
As part of the judging process we were looking for looking top gardens that would showcase homegrown food, spaces for wildlife, recycled elements and variety of plants. Willow’s garden ticked the boxes and proved to be a deserved winner receiving £200 in vouchers and a trophy for her hard work.
Willow said: “This garden is extra special to me because I was homeless before I was given this home. I would have been grateful for anywhere to live, yet I was given a new build with a garden! I will be forever appreciative of SNG for this home and outside space. The wildlife say thank you too! I love natural, I love seeing where new plants appear, it's a beautiful process and a constant excitement for me.”
She was among 139 submissions from gardeners and gardening groups who stood out from over 85,000 households across Southern England. SNG customers live in a variety of homes and the In Bloom competition offered prizes across four categories of gardens with indoor, outdoor and community gardens, and green spaces all in contention.
Willow adds: “No matter how I feel, when I walk into my garden and hear the buzzing and see all of the life in there, I smile widely. I can even identify a new species (to me!) of a particular hover fly just by its buzz, so this garden is everything to me. I love being who I am, but there's no pretending that being autistic makes life overwhelming, challenging and exhausting and can affect my mental health quite easily.”
Willow has named her garden ‘Dandelions’ which is a name that has a very personal meaning to her.
She says: “As a late diagnosed autistic person and with the traumatic past I've had, one of the things I have in common with dandelions, nettles and other plants so important to nature but what many humans call “weeds”, wasps and slugs and the like, is I know what it's like to be disliked and ostracised just for being me, not appreciated etc, so I have a lot in common with the things that are pushed out, killed and dug up.
“Things people often hate are even more welcome in my patch! And like the dandelions and other wildflowers, we have grown back and bloomed, no matter how much we've been stomped on we survive and come back and the right people appreciate them and us!”
Mark Washer, SNG’s CEO and In Bloom judge, commented: “We’ve seen some absolutely fantastic gardens, plants and green spaces this year showcasing the commitment and skill of our customers. All these spaces, whether large or small, with their colour and beauty, make house a home. And they make the community a thriving place to live.”