Britain in bloom

[Paul Wagland]

Blimey, never though I'd find myself posting in the flowery bit!

My mum and dad have just bought a house in a village nearby, which I gather does rather well in the 'Britain in Bloom' competition. Mum's a keen gardener (my inspiration really) and would like to get involved.

I was wondering if any grapes have experience of the competition and could offer suggestions as to what to expect. Is it friendly? Cliquey? Good fun or a waste of time?

[Two_Sheds]

I've entered twice now. I personally found the whole thing a bit "not me". The standard or criteria seems to be: municipal/gaudy/conventional. Just look at the gardens and villages that win prizes: every single colour of traditional bedding flower (busy lizzy, dahlia, yawn) all thrown into one bed/container. No attempt at a tasteful, subtle or unconventional colour scheme.
When I entered my rambling, sprawly allotment, I got the distinct impression the judges were looking for straight lines/neatness/conventional old-fashioned planting.

[bluemoon]

My mum's village enter, it's all gaudy containers on every flat surface and baskets dangling from anything with a large enough overhang. Then you get the people who are obsessed with it and who try to jolly everyone along, rattling their collecting tins for evermore ambitious communal displays and the grouches who think that an entry should mean the parish council pays for their gardens to be tidied. For one week in summer the whole place looks like an explosion in a paint factory, then everything quickly disappears until next time.

[Paul Wagland]

Not what she's expecting perhaps! Thanks for your tips guys, I shall pass them on.

[bluemoon]

Sorry, Paul I didn't mean it to sound quite so negative, I'm sure many people derive a lot of pleasure from it. There's one chap at my mum's church who has found a whole new interest in growing his bedding plants from scratch for the contest, even supplying others and buying his first greenhouse at age 77. However there's much apathy and even resentment too, but then you're always going to get the grouches who write to the local paper about the waste of money, supplying a list of things they'd rather have instead - usually stuff no-one else wants. And of course there are the vandals who think it's really funny to wreck everything the night before judging. A village is like a city only smaller, but there does seem to be a greater tendency for the more misery-guts' among the residents to take everything personally.

[Flummery]

Our village entered for the fist time last year - and came out with a silver award. It was like the Oscars! I'm on the committee and we think it depends on your judging panel. For our first year we did have some bedding for the summer - quick impact - but the judges suggestions were very helpful I thought. They have suggested more sustainable planting (we have added perennials and bulbs to our beds) and more involvement from the school if possible - the head is really up for this. I thought it would be all Parks and Gardens bedding schemes and was very pleasantly surprised. We held an event at the village hall a few weeks ago and asked all the village organisations if they'd like a table. It became a social occasion - refreshments brought us in some plant money - and we gave some feedback to the village. We enter as a village, not individual gardens or allotments - it's the overall effect that counts. We put up pictures of our communal plantings - around street signs etc - and the judges' comments and people were fascinated to read how they were judged. I was very heartened that it didn't seem to be how straight is your edge but how sustainable your scheme was. I'd encourage any village to try for it - but to enter the village group suitable to your size. It might be different for individual gardens however.