Tewkesbury in Bloom

This year we have applied to enter parts of the Town into the In Your Neighbourhood awards. This is still run by the RHS but enables us to concentrate on smaller areas.

We were pleased to be awarded another Gold in the Heart of England in Bloom Awards.

We have been lucky to secure some further funding via a COVID grant from Tewkesbury Borough Council.  The funds totaling £1k have enabled us to purchase a selection of Spring bulbs and winter flowering plants for every single town centre planter!  More importantly, we have been able to involve the public by inviting them to join us in planting sessions.  We received lots of help from all age groups and it was wonderful to see everyone enjoying themselves in the fresh air, after such a challenging year. 

We hope the planters bring some colourful cheer during the colder and drab days of winter. Keep your eye open and see which bulbs pop up first! 

We are pleased to announce we have been awarded a Gold Medal in the 2021 virtual Heart of England (regional) competition.   

Instead of a personal visit from HoE judges, we submitted a portfolio of our work throughout the year with images. 

Judges were particularly impressed with our use of thyme to act as a weed suppressor and to help with water retention in the 1471 flower bed.  Thyme is a perennial herb and its small flowers attract pollinators. 

In 2021 the Britain in Bloom competition will be a virtual one. Locally Tewkesbury enters the Heart of England in Bloom regional competition and we are busily preparing a portfolio of our work to email to the judges. 

This is to ensure we comply with current COVID advice. 

Tewkesbury Borough Council awarded us a COVID grant and we purchased spring plants and bulbs to bring some cheer into the town centre during challenging times.  Families with young children, and individual of all ages joined us in November to do a mammoth planting session 

We have made a big investment in new planters for the town centre in 2020. 

Some of our wooden barrels had seen better days.  These planters are self watering and have a reservoir system so that watering frequency can be reduced.  Over a number of years we have built up a small reserve from our sponsorship scheme which has enabled us to invest in providing the town with 12 planters to improve the quality of our displays. 

The slightly raised height (compared the older wooden barrels) means more volunteers (especially those with back or mobility issues) will be able help plant up. 

Its with great sadness that we announce the passing of Margaret White formerly of Home Abbey House, Tewkesbury.  When she closed her business in Tewkesbury she decided to help the town in her retirement and we are very grateful to Margaret for her fundraising efforts over many years supporting both Tewkesbury in Bloom and Tewkesbury Christmas lights project.

In these challenging times, lots of us will be out in our gardens.  There is evidence to suggest that being outdoors and in our gardens is good for our mental health.  Here is an article we have found from Paul Steed, a Horticultural Therapist: 

During this time of isolation, it could be easy to become lethargic and quite depressed whilst remaining at home. However, if you have a garden then take the opportunity to spend some time each day pottering around outside, providing of course that you are in a safe situation and at a distance from others!

The whole principle of therapeutic gardening is being outdoors and connecting with nature. The combination of fresh air, listening to the birds and physically working with plants makes gardening so good for our health and well-being, as we are intrinsically connected to nature. Being outside and part of nature plays an important part in keeping us healthy. Too much time spent in artificial surroundings has been proven to affect our mental well-being. It doesn’t matter if you only have a tiny garden. Getting out and relaxing whilst pottering about will work wonders for releasing stress and giving you a positive, optimistic feeling.

Even just potting up plants, sowing seed or taking cuttings will give you great stress relief and also get your body, limbs hands and fingers moving. It is great cognitive therapy and watching crops grow will be good for maintaining optimism and morale. If you’re lucky to have a garden with a lawn then mowing is great physical exercise to give the whole body a work out, the same with hoeing, weeding and sweeping.

Think of the time that you spend in the garden as a trip out of the house and an opportunity for a physical workout, as if going to a gym but with nicer floral surroundings! It will help to give you something positive to focus on and if you’re able to grow some vegetables, then all the better!! Luckily we are heading towards the summer and the growing season which will give us the opportunity to get out and get gardening.

Stay safe during these difficult days and keep on gardening.