A KELSO landscaping company won a silver gilt for their garden in honour of an Earlston teenager bidding to become a Paralympian.
Border Aggregates created ‘Sam’s Paralympic Journey’ for Gardening Scotland at Ingliston, Edinburgh, at the beginning of the month to raise money for wheelchair racer Samantha Kinghorn.
Paul Bradford, who runs the company with his son, Michael, said: “It’s smashing, lovely. We were certainly trying to do well: Bill Elliot who designed it for us is superb and he was pulling out all the stops.”
He thought the judges liked the inspiring story behind the garden which has raised £670 so far to go towards helping 16-year-old Sam achieve her Paralympian dreams.
The Earlston High School teenager broke her back in December 2010 helping to clear snow at the Gordon farm where her father Neil is stockman.
But the sports lover, who previously played hockey and enjoyed ballet and gymnastics, immediately set about finding a new competitive activity, taking up wheelchair racing.
The inspirational teenager was interviewed by gardening television programme Beechgrove Garden, STV, Radio Scotland and other media at the Gardening Scotland event. And she has been to talk to children at three local primary schools.
Mr Bradford said: “She is just unbelievable. Within 10 minutes of meeting her she was showing me what her dad had made for her (to help with her training). She was somebody I really wanted to help.
“In a way we had already won before we started making the garden because, after the publicity from stories in the newspapers, charities have been in touch with both Elaine (Samantha’s mother) and myself and someone has already donated a sports chair to Samantha.”
Borderers will have the chance to see the garden as Mr Bradford will be recreating it for the Border Union Show at the end of July when he will once again invite people to donate to help Sam achieve her racing goals.