Queenstown Gardening Competition

Lake County Mail, Issue 49, 12 May 1948, Page 2

Queenstown Gardening Competition

At a recent meeting of the Queenstown Beautifying Society a report was received from Mr John A. Borrie, who made the final judgment of the gardens and street frontages in Queenstown, on which the prizes were awarded in the first competition sponsored by the Society. The report went on to say:—

Speaking generally, said Mr Borrie, the gardens were well laid out and showed careful cultivation and the expenditure of much work and careful attention. I should say that owing to conditions existing they are not at their best at the time of judging but practically all showed a good selection of plants and vegetables, and presented a bright and attractive appearance that added greatly to the homelike appearance of the properties. 1 was impressed with one garden, Mr Campbell’s, in Brisbane street, which did not quite reach the highest awards but which was rather a different style to most of the others with its wellplaced shrubs and well-kept lawns. The Warrens’ garden which was not entered for competition was, I thought, worthy of very high commendation, as was also Mr Wilder’s. The judging presented somewhat of a problem. There were fairly big gardens and small gardens. Some were in situations which could be easily developed and worked, and others which have been made only at very considerable expense and by the use of skilled labour. Some were the work of the owners alone and in others professional assistance had been employed. All these factors have a bearing on the results achieved but, as far as possible I ignored them in arriving at my decisions. In future it may be better to divide the competition into two or more sections, say: A —Gardens up to I-acre; B —gardens over |-acre; or, perhaps (a) gardens where no paid assistance is employed; (b) gardens where paid assistance is employed. Some gardens lost points through some untidiness, mostly about the back premises through garden litter and rough unkempt grass. 4 It is, perhaps, the “ Counsel of Perfection ” to suggest that there should be no garden waste in evidence but in a competition of this kind it must be noted. It might be stacked neatly into a compact heap or dug immediately into the soil. Street Frontages

Street frontages have not always got the attention they should, and Mr J. Downey’s was the best I saw. Not only does a well-kept frontage add to the attractiveness of a home as seen from the street, but it is a pretty certain indication of a well-kept garden inside the fence. I should say that the encouragement of frontage improvement would be even more in line with the objects of your society than the encouragement of good gardens behind the frontages. And if the residents of whole streets can be induced to keep their frontages neat, the effect on the general appearance and attractiveness of the town will be most marked. To my mind there is no finer amenity to a town than well-kept grass borders with judiciously planted trees between the footpath and the roadway where the terrain is nearly level enough for such treatment and even where it is not. I think that Severn street, the southern approach to Oamaru is an outstanding example of what might be done with what was an unsightly clay bank. No doubt several of your members have seen this street. Of course, in a hilly area such as Queenstown the forming of these lawn borders to the streets presents problems to the householders which might be insuperable without the help and co-operation of the Borough Council in grading and levelling the sides of the streets preparatory to the formation of the lawn verges. The making and keeping of good street frontages seems to be more or less an infectious undertaking. I have noticed in my home town, Mosgiel, that in many cases when one resident has put his street frontage in good order and kept it so, others follow suit until whole blocks and sometimes whole streets are kept in an attractive and neat condition. In a further note, Mr Borrie suggests setting up a competition for frontages and providing a banner competition which could be awarded to whole streets for frontage improvement, say, monthly.