Keep Dunedin Beuatiful Bowling Club Garden Awards

The winners of the Keep Dunedin Beautiful Bowling Club Awards have been announced - Portobello Bowling Club won the small club category and North East Valley Bowling Club the large club category.
A plaque and prize money will be presented to the winning clubs at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, 7 December at the North East Valley Bowling Club.
Early in June, Keep Dunedin Beautiful invited nominations from the city’s bowling clubs for the best garden award, with judging to take place in late November. The committee said in its invitation letter “we realise that, over the course of a season, many bowlers come through your doors and have the pleasure of experiencing your tidy and colourful grounds. Many of them go home inspired to do something extra in their own gardens which all adds up to more pride and beauty in our city. We feel bowling clubs are often behind the scenes, yet make up a large portion of the green area of the city and thus enhance its overall beauty.”
Eight clubs entered – in the category with less than 80 members: Portobello, Caversham and Roslyn; and in the category with more than 80 members: North East Valley, Taieri, St Kilda, St Clair and Fairfield.
Judging took place Over 2 days last week, by horticultural members Jessie Cousins, Anne and Dick Turvey. Judging was very difficult as each club’s garden was unique in its own way including extensive vegetable gardens, established rose gardens and newly planted natives to encourage birds.
Jessie Cousins was very impressed with the amount of work that had gone into replanting natives, establishing quiet picnic like spots and the neat and tidy appearance of the Portobello Bowling Club garden as a whole.
Judges Anne and Dick Turvey commented on how the North East Valley club had planted to the conditions, it was an all year round garden and it was obvious that the heart and soul of the members was in this garden. The garden had been planted with a continuum in mind as your eye drifted upwards from the garden to the surrounding hill side.
Keep Dunedin Beautiful was also pleased to see that conservation was very evident, through recycling, composting and rubbish, at all clubs that were visited.