Judges on the hunt for city's most beautiful gardens

Peter Lawrence's garden in Northwood is a previous award winner. This year award certificates will be presented to the winners in March or April at ceremonies (subject to the Covid-19 guidelines) or they will be posted out. Photo: File image

The awards, which are being held for the 32nd year in a row, aim to celebrate and recognise beautiful gardens.

Christchurch Beautifying Association president Ron Andrew is one of 20 judges who will be making the rounds through neighbourhoods from Saturday in search of the best looking gardens visible from the street.

Andrew said one of the main things the judges look for is community pride.

He said a lot of people get involved in gardening each year, particularly the elderly and the effort they put in is amazing.

Ron Andrew and wide Glyn. Photo: File image

“It’s healthy, it gets rid of stress, it’s enjoyable and the end results are rewarding . . . it’s the most popular past time of anything.”

Partnering with the city council, community boards and the Christchurch Beautifying Association, the awards aim to encourage civic pride and recognise people who help maintain Christchurch’s reputation as the Garden City.

“Many people in our communities put time and effort into their gardens each week, planting, mulching, weeding and mowing,” said city council head of community support, John Filsell.

“We also have commercial property owners who go the extra mile with their public gardens.

“It really makes a difference to how our streets look and how people feel about their community so we want to recognise that hard work through these awards.”

Volunteer judges from the association will be judging the gardens from January 15 to February 6.

Last year 682 awards were given out for outstanding gardens.

The gardens will be judged on the amount of effort put into creating and maintaining it, overall tidiness and the impact of the garden on the street.

Gardeners that meet these standards will receive a prize card in their mailbox, with all gardens visible from the street being eligible, both residential and commercial.

Six community boards are involved in the awards: Coastal-Burwood, Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood, Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton, Linwood-Central-Heathcote, Papanui-Innes and Spreydon-Cashmere.

Any garden within these areas and visible from the street is eligible for an award.