Val Good of Weston-under-Redcastle has won the station's perpetual Gardening Cup together with a host of prizes. | "This was a unique opportunity... We received many good ideas but Val’s was the one which appealed most." | | Alan Wilding, BBC Radio Shropshire |
Val found out she had won BBC Radio Shropshire’s Gardening Cup Challenge when presenter Alan Wilding rang her live on air to tell her the news. It was a genuine surprise call for Val because she wasn’t even listening to the programme at the time although she was quick to explain that normally she's a regular. Her old ironing board serves as a movable, adjustable working surface around the garden for various jobs such as pricking-out seedlings and potting-up plants. A couple of weeks after the surprise call Val joined Alan Wilding and Martin Ford in the Gardening studio, on 5 February 2006, and told them she had the idea after her husband John had erected a shelf in their polytunnel which proved too high for her. She said: "John's taller than me and I thought I'd just try the old ironing board which was waiting to be taken away. The first one turned out to be so useful that we now have two in our garden." She added: "I’m even thinking of marketing the idea." The annual Cup Challenge started in November 2004 when listeners were invited to join the cup trail by submitting a Top Tip which had proved useful in their own gardens. Alan Wilding said: "This was a unique opportunity for our gardening listeners to share their knowledge and experiences with other listeners across the county. We received many good ideas but Val’s was the one which appealed most to my colleague Martin Ford and me." | 
