25 July 2006

Water saving wonders who have worked out how to beat the summer wilt have a chance to win in the ‘Best water wise garden’ competition.

The council's Parks and Countryside team is running a one-off competition to get to the root of local people's water wise ideas and water efficient gardens. A specialist team of judges will be looking for inventive ideas and ingenious planting

Chris Bruce, Head of Parks and Coutryside Services, explains:

"With water shortages being such a serious issue this summer, it's important that we all think about ways of saving water and the garden is a great place to start. 

We want to hear from local people with buckets of water saving ideas to keep the garden looking its best without breaking the hospipe ban.  Something as simple as having a water butt can make a real difference but hopefully this competition will unearth some unusual water saving tactics. We've been using recycled water to keep Guildford's flowers fresh so we're interested to know how other people have adapted to the water shortage."

The competition is open to everyone, runs until 31 August, and the winning garden and gardener will win £100 of gardening vouchers.

This initiative is part of the council's commitment to improving residents’ local surroundings, by focusing on issues that matter most to them such as a cleaner, safer and greener environment.

For more information about the competition please contact Sally Crundwell on 01483 444715 or email parks@guildford.gov.uk

Press  contact: Laura Hanbury, Assistant Communications Officer
Tel: 01483 444337
Fax: 01483 444023
Email: laura.hanbury@guildford.gov.uk