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How green is your verge? Competition engenders community spirit

2011/12/09 12:00:00 AM

Verges create an important first impression of a home or neighbourhood. They also impact on property values. This was the inspiration behind the ‘’Outstanding Verge Competition” recently launched by the Fourways/Dainfern office of Pam Golding Properties.

According to office manager Jason Shaw the competition aims to create an awareness of the role of the environment and particularly exterior gardens within neighbourhoods. “Many property owners view the area outside their boundary walls as being of lesser importance. While it is understandable that people choose to devote their energies to those parts of the garden in which they spend time, these external areas make a first impression on potential home buyers and can enhance the appeal of a property and the neighbourhood.

“The competition encourages homeowners to put a little extra effort and creativity into their verges. Aesthetically pleasing exteriors not only improve homes, they beautify and uplift communities. Attractive neighbourhoods attract buyers and impact positively on property values.” Shaw says the competition was well received by house-proud property owners in the Fourways area.

“We were delighted by the positive response we received and plan to turn this into an annual event,” he adds. “The public saw the boards showcasing the verges of other competition entrants and began calling in to enter their own properties. People were encouraging their neighbours to enter their beautiful verges and the initiative rapidly took on a life of its own.”

The winner of the Fourways/Dainfern branch’s competition was Lisa de Kock who developed a beautiful indigenous garden on her verge. Her prize was a Pam Golding Properties sponsored R20 000 garden revamp from Hilltop Trading.

Lisa says she was surprised to be placed first in the competition as she did not really consider herself a gardener and had only started working on her garden two years ago when she acquired her house. However, she describes herself as a perfectionist and says she takes a great pride in her house and garden. “If you want to do something, do it properly and from the heart,” she volunteers.

Lisa points out that many homeowners neglect their verges. She believes therefore that initiatives such as the ‘’Outstanding Verge Competition” are very positive and should be encouraged.

Jason Shaw says that a number of different criteria were considered when judging the verges entered into the competition. “The overall attractiveness of each verge was the starting point with the innovative use of plants and features such as rock formations, stone carvings, water features and other elements being considered as well. Some of the verges were indigenous and others had special themes. We made a special effort to judge each verge in its own right.”

Shaw says that Pam Golding Properties has learnt much from this first year of the competition and is looking to see how they can take it further in future. One new category that they plan to introduce next year is ‘Most Improved Verge’. This should encourage more homeowners to work at bettering their verges, according to Shaw. Plans are also afoot to develop a separate townhouse and cluster category.

For information please contact Pam Golding Properties Fourways/Dainfern office on telephone  011 467 4119 or email Jason.shaw@pamgolding.co.za.

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