8:00am Friday 22nd August 2008
By Charlie Stong
COCKFOSTERS station is hoping to use flower power to win this year’s Underground in Bloom competition.
The Piccadilly Line station is competing against 44 other stations and depots on the London Underground network.
It stands a good chance of victory, currently featuring an impressive display of blooming flowers and plants.
Each year many stations across the network take part in the Underground in Bloom competition.
The gardens are designed, planted and looked after by station staff in their spare time.
The stations have just undergone judging and are nervously awaiting the results of the competition which will be announced on September 9 during an award ceremony at the Transport Museum.
Cockfosters was judged in mid-July by performance manager Tony Matthews.
This year’s competition has seen the highest-ever number of entries since it began.
It features several categories – Cultivated Gardens; Hanging Baskets; Tubs; Best Overall Garden; Art Category; Dennis Sanger Special Award; Best New Plot and Best Train Accommodation.
The top station will received £300.
Staff at Cockfosters, like all those taking part in the Underground in Bloom competition, were awarded up to £200 by their group station manager to buy the necessary equipment, plants and seeds to design and grow the garden of their choice in a suitable location.
Last year Morden won the coveted title of Best Overall Station, Oxford Circus won the prize for Best Hanging Baskets, and Canons Park won the prize for Best Cultivated Garden.
Cockfosters is the only Enfield station taking part in this year’s competition.
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