Mr Taj’s fruit is first class

Published by Lucy Bradwell for The Regenda Group in Housing and also in Communities, Health

Green fingered Mr Mohammed Taj (89), from St Peter’s Close in Ashton-under-Lyne is the winner of Regenda’s ‘Grow Your Own’ competition this year.  The North West housing provider organised the initiative to encourage residents to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Mr Taj was presented with a basket of gardening goodies after scooping first prize. Explaining his reasons for starting his hobby he said, “I decided to take up gardening after the death of my wife as I felt that I needed to keep myself busy. I originally concentrated on roses but soon changed my mind once I started visiting the local garden centre with my daughter and started mixing the roses with a large variety of fruit trees and grape vines. I am 89 years old and spend as much time as I can in the garden whatever the weather.”

Amanda Lennox, neighbourhood officer at Regenda said, “Mr Taj’s garden impressed all of the judges.  He’s clearly worked very hard to grow a variety of fruit, which can’t have been easy considering the weather this summer.  We ran the competition to encourage people to have a healthy diet and also reduce their food bills by making the most of the space they have in their own back garden.”

Regenda works with communities to build a sustainable future.