Open Garden - The Awards Ceremony


Picture courtesy of: WaterAid/Daniel O'Leary

I feel a bit like my old Headmistress at Speech Day. It was always held at this time of year and she'd be presiding over a table groaning with prizes for presentation to high achievers. But it was always a bittersweet time as it marked a fresh chapter in the school's history and not everyone could receive a prize, no matter how deserving they were.

It's the same with my Open Garden. I've decided to keep it open for a while: the Just Giving website is valid until 9th February and some of you've asked to come and visit a few times more. I also have a couple of great prizes to auction a little later in the year - watch this space for more details. Thus begins a new chapter in my open garden's history - I'll be revamping it over the next few weeks to reflect its new status. I'm in the process of adding some new bits and pieces, such as the plant lists for each bed. I've also added another recipe - for courgette and brie soup, yum. I'll be adding links - I didn't put them in during the main fundraising phase as I wanted you to stay in the garden and not be tempted to wander away. That's not so important now (though donations are still welcome!), so I can put in a proper blogroll as a thank you to everyone who's participated.

And I too have a table groaning with prizes. Some have been awarded already, but I still have a substantial number here to hand out. So without further ado, here's the final list of awards. Big round of applause please:

So unlike Speech Day, in this instance everyone is a winner! Hurrah! Well done and I'll be in touch regarding getting your prizes to you and finding out what you'd like in the case of the seed giveaway. Thanks so much for making my Open Garden such a success - donations stand at £861.50 at the moment. It's been such fun to do and I'm going to miss it a lot. I feel like I've had a very early Christmas this year - I guess I'm going to feel a bit flat for a while...

Comments

  1. The Garden Monkey23 September 2008 at 21:10

    A massive achievement - Over three times what you set out for. Well-done.

    XX

    ReplyDelete
  2. VP23 September 2008 at 21:13

    Thanks GM - a lot of the success is down to your ability to wangle prizes out of people :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Garden Monkey23 September 2008 at 22:10

    Don't be daft. Down to your hard work.

    There was not any real degree of wangling involved, all the authors who donated books took no persuading to do so - they wouldn't even accept my offer of postage. Lovely people one and all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. VP23 September 2008 at 22:36

    Hurrah! :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shirley23 September 2008 at 23:42

    Hi there VP and Congrats with both your Open Garden Success and your two nominations in the Blotanical Awards. Great stuff :-D

    I also found it great stuff a number of years ago when we opened our garden (with others in our small town) in aid of our local children's hospice. Your plight is indeed a great one!

    Wishing you continued success with this project and your garden :-D

    ReplyDelete
  6. HappyMouffetard24 September 2008 at 06:59

    Congratulations on the fantastic total you have raised so far. A brilliant idea, and great fun. And I can't believe I've won a prize :-D
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Zoë24 September 2008 at 08:52

    Thank you so much for the prize, that is just perfect! I shall go and reckie their website right away!

    Zoë xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Helen/patientgardener24 September 2008 at 08:58

    Well done - what a fab achievement.
    Thank you for my prize as well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous24 September 2008 at 09:30

    Many thanks for the prize that you've given me! I shall read it with interest, and maybe even put the theory into practice.
    On receipt I'll do an entry about it, your Open Garden and WaterAid. I'll also keep the blogroll link, under A Good Cause, open to 9th February.
    You really have done so well with all this, which I'm sure is a reflection of the time and effort that you've put into it.
    Well done and thanks again! xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous24 September 2008 at 11:11

    HI VP, what a pleasant, make that stupendous surprise to be among the winners! Thanks so much. I very much admire and applaud your efforts for this very worthy charitable endeavor. It seems to have been a rousing success. I look forward to my In The Garden sign, because that is where my time is spent (when not in the lazyboy blogging, of course!). Many, many thanks.
    Frances at Fairegarden

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous24 September 2008 at 11:47

    Post Script:
    I forgot to add lots of pats on the back for your Blotanical nominations!

    Also, I finally figured out how to get your water aid logo up with a link to your Open Garden.

    F

    ReplyDelete
  12. NewShoot24 September 2008 at 18:05

    Jolly well done! for all your hard work in putting the site together and the fundraising. I really enjoyed visiting and look forward to tootling round the updated version (once I get broadband again!) - and my prize was an extra added bonus

    ReplyDelete
  13. Juliet25 September 2008 at 00:04

    Thank you VP - I've just emailed you, but I'll say again here how chuffed I am with the prize: I love herbs, I love books, and I love books about herbs! :D

    Well done with the Open Garden, & let's hope the donations keep rolling in!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rose25 September 2008 at 00:18

    Thanks for deciding to keep the open garden up for awhile--one of these days I'm going to spend a whole afternoon touring it! And you really are offering some of your seeds to anyone? I would certainly like to take you up on that.

    VP, you deserve an award for all the hard work and time you put into making this fundraiser such a success. Too bad there wasn't a humanitarian award category on Blotanical!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous25 September 2008 at 22:19

    I am so glad that you are keeping the garden open for longer VP - I still have to test out some of those delicious sounding recipes. Congratulations on your fund raising to date - a testament to all your hard graft.

    Thanks for my prize too - my allotment will appreciate it :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. VP26 September 2008 at 15:00

    Hi prize winners - I'll be in touch shortly (if not already) to arrange sending you your prizes. This is taken longer than expected, so my apologies.

    And Rose, I'll be in touch shortly to see which seeds you'd like.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Juliet27 September 2008 at 22:58

    Just to let you know my book arrived yesterday - thank you! :D

    ReplyDelete
  18. VP30 September 2008 at 20:20

    Juliet - hurrah! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for letting me know.

    ReplyDelete

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