Group celebrate their Perth day
Scottish city crowned 2019 ‘Champion of Champions’ in Uk-wide community gardening competition, as LOUISE MIDGLEY discovers
THE 55th annual Britain in Bloom community gardening competition run by the Royal Horticultural Society awarded its top prize this year to Perth in Scotland. Sustainability was at the heart of many of the design elements across the city. “One of the most inspirational things I saw,” commented RHS judge Jon Wheatley, who helped judge the Champion of Champions category, “was at the local recycling centre. All sorts of waste, from old tyres to an old car, had been upcycled into beautiful displays to raise awareness of how much we throw away. Even some of the plants had been rescued from the rubbish!”
Around 3,500 community groups and thousands of local volunteers take part in the UK’S biggest community gardening scheme and in doing so help make their local neighbourhoods beautiful environments to live in.
Bloom was initiated by the British Tourist Authority in 1964 to attract visitors to the UK through eyecatching floral displays.
The RHS took over the reins in 2001 and have developed the campaign to include greater focus on community participation and environmental responsibility.
What started as a simple rural hanging basket and container competition in its early days has evolved into a major socio-environmental campaign that is improving villages, towns and cities across the UK.
“Britain in Bloom is no longer just about spectacular floral displays,” said Darren Share, chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom judges. “Gardeners are increasingly having to respond to the changing climate, declining pollinator numbers and plastic waste.
“More communities are galvanizing people around these issues to bring about positive change.this year’s overall winner Perth is a fine example of what can be achieved.”
With its volunteers contributing around 5,000 hours every week, Perth was commended for its forward-thinking environmental initiatives and superb horticultural and community support. It wowed the RHS judges with its pollinatorfriendly planting schemes; many of its seasonal bedding schemes had been exchanged for hardy plants that provide year-round food for bees and other wildlife.
Its volunteer-maintained heather collection in Riverside Park, which features more than 500 varieties and beloved by insects including the buff-tailed bumblebee, stood out as one of its best assets.
Perth fought off four other worthy contenders to win the top accolade of the annual competition – Durham, Kingsbridge in Devon, Castlecaulfield in Northern Ireland and St Helier in Jersey.three other category wins made Scotland the most successful competing nation or region in 2019: Bridge of Earn won the Largevillage category, Haddington scooped the Town prize and St Andrews walked away with the Coastal award.