Annie Monaghan

A FORMER social worker who describes gardening as “a growing community,” has won the prestigious award for best front garden in the annual Islington in Bloom awards.

Annie Monaghan, who lives in Ambler Road just a few doors down from the famous “elephant hedges”, said her street is so neighbourly and well known for people stopping for a chat while they get their gardening done it’s known as “Veg Street”.

Ms Monaghan has been entering Islington’s popular gardening competition every year for more than 10 years, alongside another 231 households this year, but this is the first time she has come first.

Describing how it brings people together and improves the environment, she said: “We all garden our front gardens because that’s the social space. I know everyone because of this garden and they all stop for a chat and the same with everyone else.

“I think what gardeners get is it’s nurturing a living thing, it’s so satisfying. And what you get is also beautiful. And then that leads to you to start talking about nature and sustainability.”

Islington born and bred, Ms Monaghan admitted that while she thought of her garden as a “bit of mess,” her neighbours encouraged her to enter the competition because her garden was “in Islington and in bloom”.

Nicholas Tawa and Jamie Woo and their award-winning window box

She now encourages anyone who tends a green space to think about entering next year, insisting “it doesn’t have to be a Chelsea Flower show” standard.

After leaving social work, Ms Monaghan went on to work in the deputy prime minister’s office under John Prescott as a policy advisor during the New Labour years, but now spends her free time gardening.

She can spend up to three hours a week on just her front garden although she also tends an allotment nearby, and nearly everything she eats she has grown herself.

Delighted with her £150 prize, Ms Monaghan also plans to hang her certificate somewhere in the house if she can convince her husband.

Another In Bloom winner, Jamie Woo and her partner Nicholas Tawa, won best window box at the awards ceremony held last Tuesday at OmNom in Upper Street, Highbury.

The couple moved to their Arundel Lodge home in Landseer Road, Archway, just over a year ago but discovered a love for gardening during Covid.

The IT consultant said: “It was quite difficult to not have any outside space during the pandemic – it made us feel really isolated, so having been able to build these window boxes, it enabled us to benefit from a therapeutic activity.

Nicholas and Jamie’s award-winning window box

“Day to day it’s also really lovely to be able to gaze out to trees and plants and flowers – our spirits are lifted when we’re able to do that and we’re able to observe bugs and ladybirds.”

Among the other winners was Gordon McArthur for best tree pit in Rees Street, Angel, while the prize winner for best community garden was Freightliners City Farm in Holloway, a charitable organisation where staff and volunteers of all ages help look after animals and plants.

The farm recently created a new ornamental garden with ponds, wet plants, and botanical beds.

The power of gardening as a tool for bringing people of all ages together was praised by Liz McAllister, chief executive at Freightliners, who said: “Our volunteers find that tending to the community garden is a really therapeutic activity, which helps improve physical fitness, is fun and brings people together.”

Other winners include Caledonian Park Friends Group for best parks community garden, Louise Souter for best container garden and Octopus Community Plant Nursery for best edible garden.