27 September, 2021
Pittsworth’s TCOF Garden Competition success
The gardens that entered into the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Garden Competition were named last week, and this year six Pittsworth residences can be found on the list, two of which took home awards.
The Garden Competition, which is one of the highlights of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, draws large crowds into the Pittsworth region and allows the town’s passionate gardeners to show off their hard work and share their beautiful gardens with others.
This year, the following Pittsworth residents have their glorious gardens open for all to enjoy:
Alma and Merv Fowler, 7 Bowden Street, Pittsworth
David and Gay Kearey, 15 Beresford Street, Pittsworth
Valerie Maud Hohn, 18 Short Street, Pittsworth
Matthew Dolley, 35 Helens Street, Pittsworth
The Grange Country Villas, 17 Short Street, Pittsworth
St Stephen’s School, 20 Murray Street, Pittsworth
Mr and Mrs Fowler, who have been entering their garden into the competition for nine years, took home first place in the Regional Productive Area section for their vegetable garden, and were named winners in the Regional Small Space section for their bush house.
Mr and Mrs Kearey also came home with an award after being named runners-up in the Regional Productive Area section, also for their vegetable garden.
Owner of McKinlay’s Nursery and Pittsworth’s very own gardener extraordinaire, Penny McKinlay said the gardens in this year’s competition were of a high calibre, and she is very impressed by the gardens in Pittsworth.
“The standard of the gardens this year has been excellent,” Mrs McKinlay said.
“We’ve had winter rain, it hasn’t been too hot and we’ve had a cold winter which means the blossoms and perennials are good.
“And, because it’s a bit cooler now, the annuals are holding.
Mrs McKinlay added that the Pittsworth gardeners play a pivotal role in the town’s economy and tourism sector.
“We’ve had four buses from Cross Country Tours, we’ve had another bus company from Brisbane, we’ve had the heritage cars staying here for three days and we’ve had the 200 caravans,” she said.
“So for those people, the gardeners are providing something extra to see, and it’s bringing those hundreds of people into Pittsworth.
“They’ve all got to eat for lunch, they’ve all got to go to toilets, they go down the street and everybody benefits because of our gardeners.
“It’s the Pittsworth gardens and the Pittsworth gardeners who allow them in, who are pleasant, who have made all different gardens.
“The Pittsworth gardens are completely different because these are permanent gardens, so you can see something in those gardens 12 months of the year.
“There would not be two gardens in Pittsworth that are the same.”
This year, Mrs McKinlay had the privilege of judging the ABC Rod Hultgren Encouragement Award, and coincidentally the winners of that award were also named the City Grand Champion in the Garden Competition - Leisa and Serge Rossignol.
Fittingly, Mrs Rossignol was born and raised in Brookstead and attended Pittsworth State High School.
If you would like to make the most of this warmer weather and enjoy the beautiful blooms in our region, the gardens in this year’s competition are open to the public from 9am to 5pm each day until Sunday, September 26th.
