Britain in Bloom success for Morrab

Paul Brett

We are delighted that Morrab Gardens was once again awarded an ‘Outstanding’ in the It’s Your Neighbourhood category of the Britain in Bloom awards. The judge described the Friends of Morrab Gardens as a wonderful supportive community group.  He drew attention to work – both practical and fund-raising – done by the Friends.

The judge was also impressed by the Gardeners House project.  This is a collaboration between the Friends, Pengarth Day Centre and the Hypatia Trust.  The aim of the project is to revitalise the old Morrab stables to create a new learning centre for botanical and horticultural projects.

Morrab Gardens was once again awarded an 'Outstanding' in the It's Your Neighbourhood category of Britain in Bloom. The judge described the Friends of Morrab Gardens as a wonderful supportive community group and drew attention to work - both practical and fund-raising - done by the Friends.

The award is recognition of the work put in by members of the Friends of Morrab Gardens – not just the volunteers who help with practical work in the garden and run fundraising events, but also those committee members who work hard to keep this active group going from strength to strength.

Particular thanks are due to Rosie and Alan who are the guiding lights of the committee; to Cornwall Councillors Jim McKenna and Cornelius Olivier for their support in so many ways; and to the professional gardening team at Morrab Gardens, led by Joe, for the guidance and assistance they give our volunteers. It’s only by teamwork that we have been able to achieve this success!

RHS It's Your Neighbourhood Assessment Form Name & Area. Friends of Morrab Gardens Penzance Judge Michael Foy Date 3rd August 2018 LEVEL ACHIEVED 5 - Outstanding Feedback Areas of Achievement The proactive group of friends are such a wonderful supportive community group. There are many aspects where the friends undertake a wide diversity of activities. The Sunday morning group is assigned to weeding: during the viewing it was clear a real impact had been made. In meeting Jackie Mace, secretary of the Friends of Morrab garden group, who was busy potting up; she indicated an extensive group of different species of plants surrounding the perimeter of the greenhouse and nursery boundary. Money has been raised to erect a sales greenhouse and a greenhouse for growing of tomatoes which are sold. Linda Sinclair, a volunteer, had steadfastly built up the collection of succulents in the Victorian greenhouse lean to (immaculate). Plant sales go on throughout the year. An annual fete is held during the summer in the garden with a sales plant table and a stall for annual subscriptions from the public — currently a 130 members. There is also a Brick A Brac table at the fete and also outside Jane's house, a member of the friends group. The friends group purchase selective trees, shrubs and plants - many are semi sub tropical species — a recent purchase was 2 olive trees 4m in height. The creation of the children's garden and wild life area and hedgehog homes, logs etc for bugs and crawlies. The hedgehogs are taken frequently to the vet to remove parasites — procedure free of charge by the local vet. Other projects include oiling park benches and general clean up jobs. A quarterly newsletter is published (face book, twitter, web site). Areas for Development Currently there is an HLF application pending to convert and develop the old stables into an educational centre, office, public toilets and a rest room for the volunteers. The application has been made by a partnership between Hypatia Trust, Cornwall Council, Friends Group and Penzance Town Council.

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