Young gardeners from Farnham Heath End School helped plant a native hedge near their school, thanks to support from Farnham in Bloom and Farnham Town Council.

The year ten pupils teamed up with Heath End Community Gardeners to plant the hedge along a forgotten verge along Farnborough Road (on Tuesday 21 March) as part of an initiative by the school to care for its local spaces.

“Farnham in Bloom isn’t only about our amazing summer displays; we want the initiative to bring long term and year-round value to the town so we were delighted to provide the plants, canes and spiral supports to help the young people and community gardeners,” says Councillor Stephen Hill, Farnham Town Council’s Lead Member for Farnham in Bloom. He adds: “Projects such as this are great for developing an interest in horticulture – we hope that some of the young people may even go on to manage a plot of their own at one of our eight allotments!”

Nick Phillips, headteacher of Farnham Heath End School, which is located just off Farnborough Road, says: “As a school, it is really important to us that our young people contribute to the community and that they appreciate and value their environment. Gardening has great educational value among its many benefits and is an excellent way to bring different generations together. Our students had a wonderful time and we are looking forward to seeing the hedge become established.”

Plans for Farnham in Bloom 2017, which will see the town enter the South and South East in Bloom and the Britain in Bloom competitions, are already underway. The competitions are about more than flowers, with judges looking at community involvement and environmental responsibility as well as horticultural achievement.