The newly-designed gardens gained a coveted Gold Award in the 2017 Yorkshire in Bloom awards (Public Houses and Restaurants section).
The venue was also the recipient of the discretionary Yorkshire Rose Commercial Award, presented to the nominee demonstrating the best involvement from the business and retail sector.
“Space is too restricted to do justice to the ‘wow’ factor of the Pipe and Glass,” said the judges. “We were shown a wonderland of edible plants and flowers by James and Stephen [Bean] who are obviously very passionate about growing flowers, nuts and berries, shrubs, vegetables and herbs to complement the food served in the lovely restaurant by James and his wife Kate.”
The judges appreciated the Mackenzies’ attention to detail when it came to caring for wildlife and appreciating the venerable history of the Pipe and Glass gardens.
“Hanging baskets are a delightful haven for wildlife with bug huts and log piles, a wooded area with beautiful wooden sculptures of a stag and a deer. Wild garlic grows alongside snowdrops and daffodils in spring and the grassy banks at the front are covered in thousands of daffodils.
“Care for the environment is paramount with recycling of plants, composting and water butts for watering – no pesticides are used and even the indoor furniture is made from recycled wood.
“The Pipe and Glass is a hugely successful gastropub and James holds cookery schools in the lovely garden as well as appearing on television sharing his passion for using plants and flowers in cooking and as part of a healthy life. Well done to all concerned – a stunning and very innovative entry.”
The nomination for the discretionary award (and we’d like to say a big thank you to John and Joy Smith for that!) echoes much of the above.
Yorkshire in Bloom is a charity, the regional body representing the Britain in Bloom campaign organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.
It organises annual competitions to encourage communities of all sizes, small villages, towns or big cities, to make a positive and lasting improvement to their local environment for the benefit of local people. The RHS encourages all communities to get involved to help create safer, cleaner and greener local environments.
Beverley blossoms at top awards
The Pipe and Glass would like to congratulate the lovely town of Beverley, just up the road, for its success in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition – it won a Gold Award and was winner of the overall category for large town/small city, and the Yorkshire Rose Award for Best Town 2017.
The judges commented:
“The horticultural standards displayed coupled with the rich heritage the town has to offer puts Beverley in the top echelons of visitor destinations.”