Children as young as two discovered their green fingers at the Bloomin’ Kids’ Easter gardening workshops, run as part of the 2017 Farnham in Bloom initiative. Over 100 children between the ages of two and 13 had fun getting their hands dirty by planting seeds and pricking out in the sessions.

“Farnham in Bloom is all about inspiring people to love gardens and gardening. What better way to do that than by showing children how simple and enjoyable it is to sow seeds and care for plants. It will only be a few short months before they will be able to see the begonias they planted in one of Farnham in Bloom’s floral displays,” says Iain Lynch, Town Clerk of Farnham Town Council. “We were able to run the workshops for free thanks to support from our sponsor Specsavers Farnham and Tesco Bags for Help in conjunction with Groundwork, plus our fantastic team of volunteers.”

Mum of two Lynne Seager-White was amazed how her son Logan transformed from a reluctant gardener to plant enthusiast during the session: “Logan was not looking forward to it, saying ‘I don’t like gardening’ this morning but the guys have changed his perspective. He is looking forward to helping his peas grow and is already planning his crop for next year.”

Volunteers from the Farnham in Bloom Community Group led the workshops with staff from the Town Council. As well as gardening, the children, who came from as far away as Camberley and Alton as well as more locally, made a diary to record their plants’ progress.

Each child was able to take home a few of their pea and rocket plants. The remainder will be tended by Town Council staff and will be on show later this spring. The children also received a goody bag with gardening activities to try out at home.

Work for this year’s Farnham in Bloom, which will see the town enter both the South and South East in Bloom and Britain in Bloom competitions, is well and truly underway. Many more activities are planned. Residents, businesses and visitors should check www.farnham.gov.uk and local publicity for updates. Corporate sponsors Farnham Specsavers is joined by dozens of local businesses and individuals providing financial support and sponsorship in kind.