Gardens
As more than 1,600 communities up and down the country prepare for this year’s Britain in Bloom competition, Hannah Stephenson looks at the kind of projects most likely to succeed
Help your community enter Britain in Bloom
Community groups in the annual Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom competition have created a riot of colour from items which might usually be consigned to the scrapheap , to green up their grey spaces.
From using old toilets and baths for planting, to creating brightly coloured containers from old soldiers’ boots, they have helped lift moods, reduced flood risk, and created wildlife habitats in their efforts to ‘green the grey’ in our towns and cities.
The competition, which has been in existence since 1963, has been a powerful tool for building communities and tackling local issues. Hundreds of groups from cities, towns and villages across the country take part each year, showcasing their environmental responsibility, community participation and horticultural achievement.
Britain in Bloom groups create greener and cleaner spaces but also grow community pride, local businesses and tourism. For those wanting to be involved, the gardening groups involved in the campaign can prove inspirational.
Getting neighbours involved, or asking local community groups or businesses for their support, is a great way to meet new people as well as improve the locale.
Organisers point out offers of support are often likely to snowball – although they stress the importance of getting the council or landowner’s permission first and involve any landscape maintenance contractors before starting work in a public space.
Elswick in Lancashire, Britain in Bloom Champion of Champions in 2017, established their group two decades ago, to help improve the village and tackle problems with litter and anti-social behaviour. They found brightening up their bus shelter with pots and planters all but banished the vandalism that had previously blighted the spot.
Better Bankside, in London, one of this year’s Britain in Bloom finalists, installed ‘The Metal Box Garden’ – using a skip – in Bankside, an area steeped in history. Located next to an old Victorian warehouse that was once used to make decorative tin boxes, the planted skip has helped to increase footfall and improve the look and feel of this quieter street.
Organisers stress that participants needn’t spend a fortune on expensive materials. An old pair of boots, bathtub or even a toilet can be re-purposed into pots and containers, ideal for filling with potting compost and planting up at minimal cost.
In Dishforth, North Yorkshire, soldiers ran a ‘boot camp’, where their decommissioned army boots were planted up and decorated by local school pupils to brighten up their communities. Likewise, a run-down toilet in East Haven near Angus was recently renovated to include an art gallery, helping to bring it back into public use.
Often, vertical space covering the walls of buildings, fences and other structures is forgotten but can be useful for injecting greenery into places where there are lots of functional demands on the pavements, walkways and ground space.
‘Living walls’, like the one at London’s Bankside, can look stunning when space is at a premium and participants have the tools and permissions required. An alternative, low-cost option is growing climbers and wall shrubs to brighten up a drab alleyway or end of a building.
Small changes can collectively make a big difference, with spaces linking up to form ‘green corridors’ for wildlife (organisers emphasise that participants should make holes in garden fences for hedgehogs to roam).
Placing pots, or pulling up a paving slab in your front garden and adding a few plants, can provide extra food for bees and reduce the hard surfaces that increase the risk of flash flooding.
Children love gardening and can learn a lot, while at the same time having fun, getting outdoors and being active. The organisers point out that the campaign can also be an opportunity to engage a whole new generation of local gardeners that might one day take over the reins.
In Didsbury in Manchester, the once neglected grounds of a scout hut near a busy main road, have now been replaced with raised beds to grow vegetables and wild flowers, teaching the importance of insects and plants’ role in helping to combat air pollution. Many passers-by now regularly stop to admire the garden.
For more information about Britain in Bloom and details of your nearest community gardening group, visit rhs.org.uk/get-involved