Norden's newest community garden is in full bloom

A resident of Rose Avenue in Norden has created a blooming community garden which will feature on this year's Norden in Bloom judging route.

Dorothy Butterworth had transformed an unloved patch of land on Rose Avenue into a beautiful garden with low-lying plants, bringing a splash of colour to the forgotten area.

Norden in Bloom chairman Paul Ellison had seen the transformation and thought that the patch would make a good addition to the route.

He said: "Dorothy really brought some life into the area, which was an unused and forgotten piece of land.

"Norden in Bloom has a collaboration with the council, so because this garden was on council land, I wanted to see if there was any way it could stay as Dorothy had put so much effort, time and money into the plot."

Dorothy was originally told to remove the garden, but after uproar from local residents, the council has allowed for the garden to be fully reinstated by volunteers and environmental management, returning it back to its former glory for all to enjoy.

 

 

Last week, Dorothy picked out her new plants for the garden at Bowlee Nursery, where she was helped by council staff, which has gifted the plants to her.

The final plants were added on 24 April by Dorothy, Andrew McConville, Paul Ellison and Ryan McCarthy from the council’s environmental management team.

Paul said: “Dorothy's over the moon, and thanks to teamwork, she has now got her garden back, where she will maintain and look after it.

“A big thank you to Rochdale Borough Council, especially Ryan from Environmental Management for their amazing work and effort.”