Yorkshire in Bloom gold award for Friarwood Valley Gardens
Friarwood Valley Gardens in Pontefract has been given Yorkshire In Bloom’s prestigious gold award for the second successive year.
In handing out the award, praise was given to the Friends of Friarwood Valley Gardens group, with judges saying they were “proud and enthusiastic to showcase all elements of the park”.
The group has helped create recent new initiatives such as the archway at the entrance to the park and the engraved liquorice poem panel.
The report from Yorkshire In Bloom described the gardens as “a wonderful green space only minutes away from the town centre which offers a peaceful and usable space in equal measures”.
Despite the long hot summer and hosepipe ban, the Friends group has maintained the flower beds and rose garden and kept them looking good for visitors.
The award comes after two successful events were held at the gardens in August: the Yorkshire Day family gala on August 1, and the Friarwood Festival on August 9, for which all 4,000 tickets were sold.
Friarwood Festival has been an annual event for seven years, showcasing local bands and also providing an affordable fun day for families.
Although Friarwood Festival is not primarily a fundraising venture, all surplus funds go towards improvements in the gardens, and it has funded tree sculptures, a thermoplastic play trail, the commemorative crown bed for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee and King Charles' Coronation in recent years, as well as additional play equipment for the playground this year.
If you would like to volunteer for the Friends of Friarwood Valley Gardens group, they can be found on Facebook.