Village puts garden display ‘cheating’ behind it to win Britain in Bloom’s top prize

Flower power and a huge community effort sees one-time eyesore named champion of champions

THREE years ago they “cheated” by employing a specialist gardening company to design a display that was delivered in ready-assembled trays.

Needless to say, on that occasion, the village of Elswick in Lancashire did pretty well in the hotly contested Britain in Bloom contest.

However, they pledged that from then on, they would go straight and do all the work themselves.

The decision paid off and, despite having no secret help from professionals, the village has been announced as the winner of the Britain in Bloom Champion of Champions crown.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) judges were impressed by high impact floral displays, stunning front gardens, an orchard, meadows and beehives.

The blip, in 2014, came when Elswick decided to design a feature to mark the 50th anniversary of the competition and, after much deliberation, agreed to try some carpet bedding.

“We have to confess that after taking advice we cheated,” they admitted on their website yesterday. “Although the committee designed and planted the bed we received sponsorship for the project and engaged a specialist company to design the display which came in ready-assembled trays.

“The plants were simply slid off the trays. The effect was quite stunning.”

For several years before that, they competed in the wrong class, entering themselves as a large village when in fact, their population was not that big.

But despite its trials and tribulations, this year, Roger Burnett, chairman of the judging panel, said Elswick’s “cando attitude” ensured they finally pipped their rivals to the post after many years of trying. “If I could bottle it, I could sell it because it’s that sort of feelgood factor,” he said. “At that level, you have basically got to be perfect and it was as near perfect an entry as you can get.”

Elswick has certainly turned around its own fortunes, having achieved absolutely no success in the Lancashire Best Kept Village competition for more than 30 years. When, 21 years ago, someone suggested entering the North West in Bloom competition, he was greeted with laughter.

The village was utterly uncared for, blighted by litter, vandalism and antisocial behaviour. It had no chance.

But a committee of volunteers was formed, and despite “minimal” community involvement, to their shock, it won the Best New Entry Award. Since then, they have never looked back.

The RHS insisted that Elswick’s actions in 2014 did not constitute cheating. It said groups were always encouraged to draw on the support of their community and use the skills of specialists.