Thursday 19 August 2010

Allotment and Garden show ... the results are in ...

Last Saturday was our local allotment and garden show. Alex was a steward at the event so was there in the morning setting up the exhibits, and going around the room with the judges. He took our entries with him in the morning too. Our entries this year were not as many as we had hoped - late crops, crop failures (or just not up to showing!) and time just meant we didn't get around to entering many categories, but there is always next year.

So Imogen's entries and results were as follows:
Seed Tray Garden - 2nd place

Imogen's seed tray garden
Lots of moss, a pond with a chestnut shell boat with bay leaf sail, a tree with colourful wool blossoms, etc

Planted Footwear - 1st place (photo taken at home before show - didn't take one at the show for some reason).

Daddy's old shoe planted with flowers

Animal made from fruit and/or veg - 1st place

Simba from the Lion King ("as an adult, because the carrots are his mane") - all Imogens idea, but Mommy helped with the cocktail sticks after one stabbed her hand.

Artwork, theme Flowers - 3rd place

Picture - theme - flowers

Lots of success again this year meant that she also won the trophy for the Best children's exhibit. Retained her title from last year!

Receiving her trophy


Alex entered the Fruit display and came 2nd, same as last year. He also entered the novice growers category for beetroot and came 1st! He says that he won't let it take the shine of winning that his was the only entry in this category. They are lovely beetroot. He also entered the photography competition based on local wildlife with a picture of a snail but didn't win any rosettes here.
Fruit selection - 2nd prize
Beetroot - 1st place


I entered the photography competition with a picture of a butterfly and came 2nd. My other entry was the hand knitting category in which I had knitted an allotment/garden - something I have been working on for a while on and off. Remember this post? That last photo? Well, here is is all knitted and sewn together.


I came 1st in this category and received so many comments about the piece, people were amazed by it and loved it. I should add that I was the only entry this year in the knitting, although the consensus was that I probably would have won it anyway with my garden. And the garden now? Well as Imogen has been watching me create this, she longed to have a garden for her dolls house ... so that's where it is now, being played with and loved.

I have to say I had so much fun knitting this. It includes a shed, a lean-to greenhouse, a coldframe, cloches, a water butt, a large potted sunflower, apple tree, bean wigwam, rhubarb, cauliflowers, carrots, cabbages, seedlings, paths and grass edging. I also won a cup for the most points in the arts, crafts and photography section.

Next year with better planning and more time, we really hope to enter far more, especially the vegetables. We thought about entering the cherry tomatoes but weren't sure we'd have enough of the same variety, same size ripe enough at the time as we hadn't been to the allotment for a while. We were very wrong - there were tonnes to choose from, but never mind. As gardeners say, there is always next year.

8 comments:

  1. I am just sooo impressed - what a very talented and creative family you are. Well done to you all. That knitted garden - wow! And Simba - well, he is so cute. xxx

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  2. Fantastic! DS3 has asked me to ask you how long did it take to do the knitted allotment? He reckons it should be my next knitting project!!

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  3. We had lots of fun, thanks for your comments.

    Claire - it's a question I got asked a lot at the show and was hard to answer. None of the bits took very long to knit, the two main beds with rows of veg are the largest pieces so took a little more time. Then it was sewn together pretty easily and quickly too. I did knit it over a few months - but mainly because I get bored knitting the same thing all the time and flit from one project to another all the time. Often I didn't touch it for a while - I know at one point it was a good 2-3 weeks because I was doing lots of spinning at the time instead.

    Go for it, it was so much fun and Imogen loves playing with it now; I've been thinking of doing another - but more of a garden, it may be a while though as I have other things in mind for now :-)

    Dawn xx

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  4. Your entries are fantastic; your knitted garden deserved 1st place for sure, no matter how many entries there were! We didn't manage to enter our local show this year, but have plans for next summer x

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  5. Congratulations on all your successes at the show. I'm especially impressed with everything that Imogen created, it was only right that she retained the cup. Your allotment garden is fantastic, what a talented knitter you are. It's so nice that it's getting used too, I bet Imogen is enjoying playing with it. I've just been catching up with your London posts too. I'm envious that you got to the Dig For Victory exhibition. I would love to visit that but we don't have any plans to go to London whilst the exhibition is on. The Natural History Museum is wonderful. We went there quite a few years ago when the kids were a lot younger. I remember their reactions to certain exhibits being much the same as Imogen's.

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  6. Love the knitted garden, older daughter has just learned to knit and is fascinating (she's 9 so she'd like to play with it too :0) )

    Previous posts of visits to museums in London are really great...Older d wants to show younger..
    they are lovely virtual visits that will keep us going 'till we get to see for ourselves (also they really help in deciding where to go when time is tight)

    Many Thanks for sharing

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  7. Fantastic allotment. Well done to you all. Love the boot too xxx
    Going to ours later but didn't have time to enter anything as it's been such a mad week. Good fun though.

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  8. Wow that knitted garden is AMAZING!

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