My RHA
Best Kept Garden competition
20th December 2017 | posted in News
Lynne Rennison’s late father Ivor was a keen gardener, so he would have been extremely proud to know she had won our annual gardening competition.
What makes it even more special is that Lynne, along with her husband Ken, are looking after the same garden her dad, a former station master at Darlington railway station, used to tend before he passed away, aged 91, in 2016.
Lynne and Ken, who live in West Auckland Road, were judged to have the best kept garden in the competition, which was open to all residents living in Railway Housing Association’s 1,400 homes in the North East and Yorkshire. There was a record number of entries in the 2017 competition, which was judged by the Association’s own residents.
Lynne says: “We were too modest to enter the competition ourselves, but a member of staff at Railway Housing Association had mentioned our garden, so we were very surprised, but delighted, when we discovered we had won.”
Lynne, aged 63, has lived in the same house for 50 years. She took over the tenancy from her parents and has always maintained it the way they did.
She adds: My dad was a very keen gardener and I learned a lot from him, so I have always ensured the garden looks great.
“We don’t spent lots of money on it; it’s just about putting the work in and Ken and I are out every day during the spring and summer making sure we keep on top of it.
“Once, a stranger even came to the door and said he had stopped his car when he went past because he wanted to compliment us on the garden, which was very nice.”
Lynne and Ken were presented with their prize – a trophy and £50 worth of high street vouchers and a plant – by Andrea Abbott, Railway Housing Association’s Director of Customer Services.
She said: “The standard of entries for our gardening competition is very high, so Lynne and Ken are deserving winners.
“It’s particularly nice that they have carried on the work of Lynne’s dad and the fact they are getting people stopping them on the street to compliment them on their garden demonstrates their love for their house and garden.
“It’s pleasing to see so many people taking such pride in their homes and gardens and we would like to thank everyone who entered.”
We will be announcing details of our 2018 Best Kept Garden competition in the spring.
