With entries 50 per cent up on the previous year and good weather throughout the summer Ramsey in Bloom judges faced a tough challenge this year, explained Ramsey Town Commissioners’ chairman Captain Nigel Malpass.
Captain Malpass was speaking at the Ramsey in Bloom prize presentation and, in congratulating the entrants, said: ‘Everyone who takes part and puts so much effort into their gardening adds to the colour and environmental quality of Ramsey.’
He also thanked local businesses for their support and paid tribute to administration officer John Donnelly for all his hard work in organising the competition every year. The chairman went on to say that Mr Donnelly’s commitment and enthusiasm for arranging community events would be sorely missed after his retirement at the end of 2013.
The judging panel was made up of the Commission’s head gardener Bobby Cunningham and local horticulturalist Pat Goodway who said: ‘2013 has proved one of the very best Ramsey in Bloom competitions - a real feast of colourful flowers and vegetables - with so many outstanding entries that judging took a day and a half to complete and the “Little Gems” category giving rise to some vigorous competition.’
For her long-standing support of Ramsey in Bloom Mrs Goodway was presented with a gift of a garden ornament by Captain Malpass on behalf of Ramsey Town Commissioners.
Ramsey in Bloom 2013 results can be downloaded from www.ramsey.gov.im.
Photo - Ramsey Town Commissioners’ chairman Captain Nigel Malpass with Ramsey in Bloom finalists. Picture Andrew Barton.
