A fitting memorial

Maureen stands in front of her prize winning garden plot holding her trophy

Monica Wills House resident, Maureen Ponting, was the proud winner of the inaugural Dave Beasant Memorial Trophy. The trophy was presented to Maureen for having the best plot on the Bedminster-based retirement village’s award-winning roof garden.

Remembering Dave Beasant

As activities co-ordinator, Julie Sach, explains, Dave Beasant was instrumental in the development of the retirement village’s spectacular roof garden: “Dave was one of our original residents at Monica Wills House. It was him who got everything up and running on the roof garden and he more or less took charge of it."

"We felt that when he passed on - he’d put so much effort into the garden - that it would be a nice idea to have a memorial trophy in his honour.”

Light green fingers

This year’s contest was judged by the Cote Lane gardening team and it was Maureen‘s display of French Marigolds that caught their eye.

A resident at Monica Wills House for 4 years, Maureen was something of a late-starter when it came to gardening. “My husband was the gardener in the family and he wouldn’t even let me pull out  a weed, so I knew nothing about it. I’ve only been gardening for these last two years," she says.

Maureen has fond memories of Dave Beasant: “He was a God-send. Dave would watch and make sure that we did things right. He was always up on the roof - giving us advice, sweeping up and weeding."

"I had nine plots at one time, but now I’ve just got the three. I grow carrots and spring onions in the others which I sell at our weekly indoor market for charity.”

Pride of place

The memorial trophy itself will be kept on permanent display in the central atrium at Monica Wills House, while Maureen gets to keep a replica of the trophy for herself.

So was she pleased with her award? “More shocked, to be honest with you”, she laughs, “I’d actually pulled out of the contest as I was so busy tending my vegetables. I hadn’t had time to do anything with my flowers and I didn’t think that my plot was half as nice as some of the others. I still don’t know how I won!”