THE hard work of Tavistock Community Gardening Team members was acknowledged earlier this month when a Royal Horticultural Society judge came to town.

The team had entered eight locations around Tavistock for the RHS’ ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ awards. The initiative was started as a way for community groups to ‘green up’ their local areas and add some colour to the community.

Judge Tim Eley made complimentary and encouraging comments when given a tour around the town to see the many works undertaken by the gardening club, which included the pop-up allotments outside the former rest room, the Edible Cottage Garden at Bedford Car Park and the popular Rose Walk.

Ali Sedgwick, a member of the gardening team, said that the judge was impressed the club had continued the colour theme of white, purple and green to celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage into its plantings below ground, as well as above.

‘We had white and purple carrots and the same colours of beetroots. Not many entries aim to do that. We even finished the morning with a suffragette carrot cake: layers of white carrot and purple carrot, sandwiched with pistachio buttercream for the green effect.

‘Tim made lots of complimentary and encouraoging comments and he has suggested that we enter a higher category within the competition next year.

‘We have to wait until the autumn to see if his comments reflect the marks he has awarded to us.’

Results of the competition should be announced in October.

For more information on how to be involved in the Tavistock Community Gardening, visit its Facebook Page.