CHESTER children are blooming marvellous.

Jessica Joyce Renner from Christleton CP School and Eve Devaney from Overleigh St Mary’s CE Primary School, were runners-up in the Grosvenor Garden Centre’s champion petunia grower of the year competition. Both girls won gardening goodies and vouchers for their schools.

Ten schools from Cheshire and North Wales took part in the competition and 60 children and their petunias were chosen as finalists to attend the judging event at the Belgrave garden centre.

The competition was judged by the garden centre’s new mascot, GrosvenorMan, and Iain Wylie, managing director of Grosvenor Garden Centre.

GrosvenorMan said: “This has been one of my toughest assignments! The standard of petunias was magnificent and all the young gardeners worked really hard to care for and nurture these hardy annuals. Hopefully this will encourage the schoolchildren to become keen gardeners as they grow up.”

Other Chester schools taking part in the Westland and Unwins sponsored competition were Eccleston, Dodleston and Waverton.

The winner, nine-year-old Rhys Jones, is from Pen Y Gelli Junior School, Coedpoeth.