For the seventh consecutive year in the South and South East in Bloom competition, Farnham has won Gold for its stunning town centre floral displays. Farnham has also won Gold in the Large Town category for the fifth year running and has beaten off stiff competition from other Surrey towns to win the County Award for Surrey.
Farnham Town Council and local gardeners are also celebrating In Bloom awards for Badshot Lea Cemetery, Gostrey Meadow and Victoria Garden, which have all been awarded Silver Gilt, and Heath End Gardeners who have been commended for ‘advancing’ in their accomplishments. South and South East in Bloom is an annual horticultural competition which aims to get more people involved in horticulture, gardening and looking after the environment.
“These really are fantastic results!” says Councillor Stephen Hill, Lead Member for Farnham in Bloom. “Competition continues to be incredibly tough in South and South East in Bloom. Farnham is up against some very accomplished competitors but I believe we have got the right balance between cost and achievement – local sponsorship enables us to reach the highest standards possible.”
He continues: “Our annual involvement in Farnham in Bloom brings so much joy and pleasure to the town – not just because of the amazing displays and aromas but also because of the opportunity for the community to work together. Young and old, businesses and schools, office workers and gardening enthusiasts come together to create something wonderful for all to enjoy. This year the judges gave a special award to Kevin Taitt, who is Team Leader of Farnham Town Council’s Outside Services team and coordinates Farnham in Bloom. Kevin retires in October and this award recognised his valuable contributions to the project and his wider input as a judge for South and South East in Bloom in recent years.”
Taking part in the In Bloom awards is just one of the ways Farnham Town Council helps demonstrate that Farnham is a great place to live. In the run-up to the completion of the summer displays over 50 local business participate in the scheme, either through sponsorship or through providing practical support, and hundreds of gardeners, schoolchildren and other volunteers work together on projects as varied as gardening workshops, allotment displays, bee-friendly planting and litter picking. The competition also provides an opportunity to improve, tidy and brighten up parts of the town that could otherwise miss out on attention.
“Being Corporate Sponsor of 2017’s Farnham in Bloom has been a marvellous way to be part of town life,” says Lateef Iqbal from Specsavers in Farnham. “Our customers love the colour and scent all over town and people appreciate the quality, creativity and scale of the town’s displays and the work that goes into them.”
Farnham Town Council has been entering the South and South East In Bloom competition since 2008, scooping dozens of awards over the years. More recently, the town has been invited to enter the Britain in Bloom awards, the results of which are eagerly awaited at the end of October.
Farnham in Bloom received the following awards:
- Gold – Town Centre category
- Gold – Large Town category
- Silver Gilt – Badshot Lea Cemetery
- Silver Gilt – Victoria Garden
- Silver Gilt – Gostrey Meadow
- Heath End Gardeners – Advancing
- Special Award – Kevin Taitt
- County Award for Surrey
- Gostrey Meadow is managed by Waverley Borough Council
- Victoria Garden in managed by volunteers
