Invergordon couple win regional Garden of the Year title
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Former town pharmacy owners Catherine and Iain Fraser beat some tough competition in the annual contest run by Ross-shire Journal publishers Highland News and Media.
Always yearning for the perfect green space Mrs Fraser said: “The two of us just potter about in our garden. In lockdown at least we had that.”
And she puts her interest in gardening down to her granny’s influence: “She was an expert at growing bulbs and won many competitions,” she said.
“A lot of people admire our garden and say it is lovely.”
Asked to pick her favourite plant from the many she has to choose from she plumped for a large begonia which, looking good, blooms all the way through summer right through until the hard frosts of December.
She does, however, wish she could do better with roses.
“We can’t seem to grow the roses here,” she said.
“We’ve tried so many different ones, so maybe it’s the sea air.”
As winners of the Inverness and Ross-shire Garden of the Year title Mr and Mrs Fraser have won a £50 voucher to spend at Simpson’s Garden Centre in Inverness and Mrs Fraser said they want to buy an ornamental lady to pair with the one they have already.
Runners up for Inverness and Ross-shire were Lynda MacLeod and Marie MacDonald.
The winner for the Moray region was Bill Munro, with runners-up Craig Robertson and Alison Gelling.
Mr Munro, of Spynie Street in Elgin, started gardening by watching and helping his father who was a keen gardener. He won a £50 voucher from Threaplands Garden Centre.
For Caithness the winner was Laura Sutherland, who gets a £50 voucher for Simpson’s Garden Centre. Runners up were Alan Hughes, Sophie Kinghorn and Bill Hepburn.
