8 to 94 years of age: NZ’s Gardeners of the Year

28 August 2009

From 8 to 94 years of age: New Zealand’s Gardeners of the Year 2009

A thrifty single mum, a 94-year-old who has pressed thousands of flowers for charity and an 8-year-old with a small vege patch and a big heart have all been named as finalists in NZ Gardener magazine’s 2009 Gardener of the Year competition, in association with Bunnings Warehouse.

The competition, now in its third year, recognises and rewards the nation’s unsung horticultural heroes, with $20,000 in prizes up for grabs.

This year there are 14 down-to-earth winning gardeners from 13 regions; Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu/Wanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast, Canterbury, Otago and Southland.

Each regional winner takes home a $1000 gardening prize package and goes into the running for the supreme accolade: the NZ Gardener 2009 Gardener of the Year award.

Decided by a public vote, the supreme winner also picks up the perfect prize package for any budding gardener –a $5000 Bunnings Warehouse voucher and a luxury trip for two to the 2010 Ellerslie Flower Show.

“Gardeners are generous people and we’re thrilled to have dug up such a charitable group of deserving winners. Every one goes beyond the call of duty to instill a love of gardening in their local communities,” says NZ Gardener editor and chief judge Lynda Hallinan.

The 2009 regional winners are: May Hansen, Northland; Cynthia Landels, Auckland; Avis Leeson, Waikato; Georgina Campbell, Gisborne; Ron Day, Manawatu-Wanganui; Geoff and May Kenyon, Taranaki; Denzil Philp, Wellington; Anne Murray, Nelson; Joshua Marshall, Marlborough; Stanley Hyde, West Coast; Susan Dent, Canterbury; Dawn Ibbotson, Otago; Marijke Aalders, Southland.

The supreme winner of the NZ Gardener 2009 Gardener of the Year title is decided by a public vote and will be announced in the November issue of NZ Gardener, on sale 26 October 2009

How to vote: The 13 regional winners – and official voting form – feature in the September issue of NZ Gardener, on sale now. For full entry details, see www.nzgardener.co.nz

ENDS

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