Gardening grannies Emma Welsh and Maureen Morrow have worked tirelessly to improve the environment of their sheltered accommodation. The green-fingered pair, of Dr Ryan House, Walker, transformed the communal garden of their sheltered accommodation from an overgrown, unloved space to a tranquil oasis.

On top of their hard work in the garden, Emma, 66, and Maureen, 65, also organise social evenings and trips out for other residents.

Emma said:

“I really enjoy working on our garden. Everyone in the block contributes in some way.

"Residents often bring a gnome or a garden ornament back from their holidays and there’s now something for everyone in our garden.

“We even have a bit of history — there’s a chain from a Wallsend shipyard which we use as a flowerbed divider and we are reusing some chimney pots from a recently demolished neighbourhood pub as flowerpots. We really recycle around here.”

Maureen added:

“It’s taken three years to get the garden looking like this and we’ve learnt so much about gardening in that time. We recently added a memorial rose to remember anyone who passes away.”

The pair were jointly nominated by housing warden Mary Thompson, in recognition of the work they have done to improve the environment for everyone living in the accommodation.

Mrs Thompson said:

“Mrs Welsh has recently undergone a knee replacement, and this is her second operation as she had the other knee replaced last year. This didn’t stop her from continuing to do her bingo nights and arranging social evenings and trips for us all.

“Mrs Morrow has also been through the mill. Her husband had a lung transplant recently, and she still manages to care for him and do all the things Mrs Welsh does. They are both amazing.”