GREENFINGERED gardeners in Portishead are celebrating this week after winning a silver gilt medal at this year's South West in Bloom awards

GREENFINGERED gardeners in Portishead are celebrating this week after winning a silver gilt medal at this year's South West in Bloom awards.The town's Portishead in Bloom group picked up the medal and five neighbourhood awards at a special ceremony held in St Ives, Cornwall, on Thursday.Portishead in Bloom chairman Gordon Randall said: "This was a very good result especially as we were up against towns like Torquay which won a gold medal."I think the town has looked particularly good this summer and the judge told me afterwards that everyone involved should be very proud."We will now have to start drawing up plans for next year to try and go that extra step forward."The Neighbourhood Awards are awarded for efforts by the community and were introduced by the Royal Horticultural Society last year as part of the campaign to make towns 'cleaner, safer and greener'.The projects to receive awards included the Gordano School garden project, Pembroke Road flats, St Peter's Church and Kingsway Park.A special award for an outstanding effort was made to the millennium garden at St Peter's Church. Mr Randall added: "The millennium garden was only one of a handful of projects to receive an outstanding award."The judges praised the garden saying it was a good example of community effort."It was created about seven years ago from an overgrown allotment and is now one of the 'wow factors' of the town."Pictured are members of the Portishead in Bloom committee celebrate their win at the South West in Bloom awards.