The horticultural efforts of the people of Perth to enhance the city were praised as “outstanding” at an awards ceremony.
Beautiful Perth chairman John Summers commended the entrants to the hotly-contested 2013 Beautiful Perth Awards when the winners were announced at a reception in the Royal George Hotel.
The overall winner was the very appropriately named Mr Garden Morrison, whose beautiful front garden with its spectacular, mature fuchsias made a huge impression on the judges.
The high standard being achieved by the next generation of Perth citizens was demonstrated by no fewer than three gold medals being awarded to local schools, with Perth College Nursery winning the Primary/Nursery Schools category and Perth Academy gaining the Secondary Schools’ trophy. The Endeavour Award for achievement went to Fairview School, where pupils with a range of abilities are closely involved in horticultural and environmental projects.
The awards were launched in April and attracted more than 40 entries, a significant increase on last year’s competition. The awards system is based on the Royal Horticultural Society’s system of giving bronze, silver, silver gilt and gold awards to reflect different levels of achievement. These were presented to the entrants at the awards ceremony by special guest Provost Liz Grant.
A total of 16 gold medals were presented, representing a “magnificent standard of achievement”.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Mr Summers said: “The aim of our awards is to encourage as many people as possible to help make Perth a great place to live, work and visit.
“We have categories for residential and commercial properties, whether they have big gardens or small displays in pots and containers.
“We also want to celebrate projects that help local environment by promoting positive action and environmental education. This year, we have seen some outstanding entries across all the categories, making me very proud of our Fair City.
“Garden Morrison and Fairview School, along with the other category winners, deserve huge praise for their outstanding entries but I want to congratulate all the entrants for their commitment to making Perth beautiful.
“Next week we’ll hear how the city has fared in the national Beautiful Scotland Awards. We hope we’ve done well but, whatever the outcome, our local award entrants have all helped enhance our wonderful Fair City.”
Photo by Phil Hannah