FLOWER POWER; Green-fingered readers of the Birmingham Mail have won pounds 250 worth of vouchers to improve their gardens. Focus DIY offered the prizes as part of our Go Green Gardening Competition. We were inundated with entries and, although our judges found it difficult, here are our winners... WINNER OF BEST VEGETABLE PLOT.

Husband and wife team Dave and Jan Brayshaw were overjoyed that they won the Birmingham Mail competition.

The couple, who have been married for 34 years, have tended their allotment in Walsall Road for ten years.

Jan, a 53-year-old carer, who lives with Dave, a 55-year-old gardener and handyman, in Perry Wood Road, Birmingham says she has noticed how popular allotments have become recently.

"When we first started here there were plots that were empty and unloved," Jan says.

"But now there is a waiting list and some people have been wanting a plot for years.

"I think people really are more interested in getting organic fruit and vegetables and growing your own is a good way to do it.

"You also meet people and it creates a really good community spirit. We hold BBQs, a summer fair and we make sure we can donate money to the County Air Ambulance.

"People also seem to be more aware of how far their food has travelled and that may be a reason why allotments have taken off."

Jan also says they try to incorporate sustainable practices into the way they garden including collecting rain water in barrels around the site and making their own compost.

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PRIZEWINNNG... Dave Brayshaw tends to his blooms.