The Glory of the Garden

I really enjoyed Radio 4's Poetry Please programme on Sunday 18th October, it featured the Rudyard Kipling poem 'The Glory of the Garden'. To listen visit the BBC Website.

OUR England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.
For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall,
You'll find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of all
The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dung-pits and the tanks,
The rollers, carts, and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the planks.

And there you'll see the gardeners, the men and 'prentice boys
Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise ;
For, except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,
The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.
And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows ;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,
For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing:-" Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives.
There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick,
There's not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick
But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner In the Glory of the Garden.
Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray
For the Glory of the Garden that it may not pass away!

And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away !

Children’s Community Competition Winners Announced

Alderman May Beattie, Chairperson of the Parks, Countryside and Amenities Sub-Committee announced the winners and runners-up (list enclosed) of the Carrickfergus in Bloom Children’s Painting & Poetry Competitions.

Alderman Beattie said “We are delighted to announce the Carrickfergus in Bloom Children’s Painting & Poetry Competition Winners and Runners-up. I am thrilled with the response from those taking part and am really excited about the quality and diversity of the entrants. It has been an opportunity for me to see the wealth and variety of artistic talent in our community. “Winners and runners-up will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony at the end of October in Carrickfergus Town Hall to receive their certificates and prizes.

Children’s Painting Competition 15 and under
Winner: Gemma Martin from Greenisland (painting enclosed)
Runner-Up: Anna Gorrod from Carrickfergus
Runner-Up: Lauren Finlay from Carrickfergus

Children’s Painting Competition 10 and under
Winner: Meghan Reid from Carrickfergus (painting enclosed)
Runner-Up: Matthew Logan from Carrickfergus
Runner-Up: Jade Halliday from Carrickfergus

Poetry Competition
Winner: Emma Baird from Carrickfergus
Runner-Up: Peter Mitchell from Carrickfergus
Runner-Up: Noel Hartley from Greenisland

View all the winning paintings
View all Carrickfergus in Bloom winners

Best Kept Allotment Winners Announced

Carrickfergus Borough Council has announced the winners of the Best Kept Allotment sponsored by Sunnybank Garden Centre, they are:

Winner: Andrew and Carrie Gault, Carrickfergus.
Runner-Up: David McCormick, Carrickfergus.
Runner-Up: Godfrey Robinson, Carrickfergus.

What the judges looked for:

• environment sustainability;
• the variety & quality of the crop;
• the control of weeds & rubbish;
• the use of compost;
• general appearance;
• creativity of each plot.

The prizes are: 1st Prize: £60.00 Gift Voucher plus two Runner-Up Prizes: £35.00 Gift Voucher. The award ceremony will take place at the October Carrickfergus in Bloom Prize Giving lunch.

Stephen Daye, Parks & Countryside Development Officer said “Carrickfergus Borough Council is committed to improving the quality of life for all the people of Borough through the services it provides including our allotment service. We opened are allotment site at Eden last April. What started as 36 plots has grown already to 198 plots. I would encourage residents of the Borough to visit Eden Allotment Gardens off Beltoy Road to view what the allotmenteers have achieved in the past year. The quality of the plots did make it difficult to pick our winners but all allotment holders should be proud of their achievements. We would like to thank Sunnybank Garden Centre who kindly sponsored the Best Kept Allotment Competition.”