Sit and watch the canal flow by at Freda's

A green-fingered champion has donated her competition prize money to support a community garden.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th May 2016, 17:00 BST
Agnes FyfeAgnes Fyfe
Agnes Fyfe

Agnes Fyfe was crowned winner of the ‘best garden’ category of last year’s Wakefield District Housing Love Where You Live Awards.

She donated her £500 winnings to the Friends of Freda’s Garden group.

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And the money has paid for a bench to be installed at the Knottingley canalside garden in memory of Freda Turner.

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Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express. Story: Agnes Fyfe from Knottingley won last years Love Where You Live garden competition, and donated her £500 winnings towards installing a public bench on the canal towpath between Cow Lane bridge and Shepherds bridge, Knottingley. The bench is in memory of local resident Freda Turner, who passed away several years ago. Reporter: Laura Drysdale. Photographer: Andrew Bellis. Photo date: 04/05/16 Picture Ref: AB184c0516Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express. Story: Agnes Fyfe from Knottingley won last years Love Where You Live garden competition, and donated her £500 winnings towards installing a public bench on the canal towpath between Cow Lane bridge and Shepherds bridge, Knottingley. The bench is in memory of local resident Freda Turner, who passed away several years ago. Reporter: Laura Drysdale. Photographer: Andrew Bellis. Photo date: 04/05/16 Picture Ref: AB184c0516
Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express. Story: Agnes Fyfe from Knottingley won last years Love Where You Live garden competition, and donated her £500 winnings towards installing a public bench on the canal towpath between Cow Lane bridge and Shepherds bridge, Knottingley. The bench is in memory of local resident Freda Turner, who passed away several years ago. Reporter: Laura Drysdale. Photographer: Andrew Bellis. Photo date: 04/05/16 Picture Ref: AB184c0516

Freda lived in a small house by the canal and treated a stretch of towpath land between Cow Lane Bridge and Shepherds Bridge as her garden, planting various species of plants and flowers.

Mrs Fyfe, who lives a short walk from the garden, said: “I love my garden and I used to know Freda a lot of years ago.

“She used to do the canalside absolutely beautifully. Everyone admired it.

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“After she passed away, nobody bothered with the gardening around the canal for a long time. But now the Friends of Freda’s Garden volunteers have got it looking beautiful again.

Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express. Story: Agnes Fyfe from Knottingley won last years Love Where You Live garden competition, and donated her £500 winnings towards installing a public bench on the canal towpath between Cow Lane bridge and Shepherds bridge, Knottingley. The bench is in memory of local resident Freda Turner, who passed away several years ago. Reporter: Laura Drysdale. Photographer: Andrew Bellis. Photo date: 04/05/16 Picture Ref: AB184c0516Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express. Story: Agnes Fyfe from Knottingley won last years Love Where You Live garden competition, and donated her £500 winnings towards installing a public bench on the canal towpath between Cow Lane bridge and Shepherds bridge, Knottingley. The bench is in memory of local resident Freda Turner, who passed away several years ago. Reporter: Laura Drysdale. Photographer: Andrew Bellis. Photo date: 04/05/16 Picture Ref: AB184c0516
Newspaper: Pontefract & Castleford Express. Story: Agnes Fyfe from Knottingley won last years Love Where You Live garden competition, and donated her £500 winnings towards installing a public bench on the canal towpath between Cow Lane bridge and Shepherds bridge, Knottingley. The bench is in memory of local resident Freda Turner, who passed away several years ago. Reporter: Laura Drysdale. Photographer: Andrew Bellis. Photo date: 04/05/16 Picture Ref: AB184c0516

“Freda won awards for her community gardens as I have won awards for my private gardens. I wanted to use the prize money to give something back in Freda’s memory.

“So I decided to donate the money to the friends group so they could add a bench in tribute to her.

“People can now go down there to admire the garden and to think about Freda.”

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Mark Lovett of the Friends of Freda’s Garden group said Mrs Fyfe’s donation had made a “real difference”.

He said: “We had always hoped to be able to put a seat in the garden in Freda’s memory but we couldn’t afford to do it.

“The donation from Agnes was absolutely brilliant.

“Without it, the seat wouldn’t be there. It is really really kind of her.”

For more information about the garden, visit www.groundwork.org.uk