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Britain in Bloom
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| RHS
Britain in
Bloom is one of the largest horticultural campaigns in
Europe with the year round aim of creating a more
beautiful Britain. Entrants compete against each other
within their area and then selected communities are
nominated to compete against each other in the RHS UK
finals.
RHS
Britain
in Bloom encourages cities, towns and villages to make the UK a more beautiful
place to live through imaginative planting, cleanliness,
sustainability and community effort.
There are categories in Britain in Bloom for every size of village, town and
city. Many Britain in Bloom entries are formed by community
groups that are already established or are led by the local
authority in the area. Many are formed when a few motivated
people get together to start a new group.
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| 'It's
Your Neighbourhood'
Awards |
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If you are a small group wanting to improve your
local street, or focus on a particular project such as
creating a community garden in a disused area, the It’s
Your Neighbourhood scheme may be able to help you. This
non-competitive initiative is for small, volunteer-led
groups who are focused on cleaning and greening up their
local patch.
It’s free
to enter and easy
to get started in It's Your Neighbourhood
Read
more about how to enter It’s Your Neighbourhood:
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| Britain
in Bloom Information |
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The RHS Britain in Bloom campaign is a year-round initiative, which sees communities the length and breadth of the UK working to improve their local environments.
Communities of all sizes take part, from small villages to large cities. Some groups are entirely voluntarily run and some work in partnership with their local council.
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| Britain
in Bloom Categories |
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| Britain
in Bloom has 13 entry categories, based on the
population of the entry. Within each category
communities of similar size are encouraged to
compete with each other in the imaginative planting
of trees, shrubs, flowers and landscaping and in
dealing with issues of litter, graffiti, waste and
vandalism.
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Champion
of Champions |
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Large City
(population of 200,001 and over) |
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City (100,001-200,000) |
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Small City (35,001-100,000) |
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Large Town (12,001-35,000) |
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Town (6,001-12,000) |
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Small Town (2,501-6,000) |
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Large
Village (1,001-2,500) |
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Village (301-1,000) |
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Small
Village (under 300) |
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Urban
Community |
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Coastal
(under 12k) |
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Coastal
(over 12k) |
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Britain
in Bloom Regions
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Anglia
in Bloom
www.angliainbloom.co.uk |
Beautiful
Scotland
www.bsib.org.uk |
Cumbria
in Bloom
www.cumbria-in-bloom.org.uk |
Northumbria
in Bloom
www.northumbriainbloom.co.uk |
East
Midlands in Bloom
www.eastmidlandsinbloom.co.uk |
South
West in Bloom
www.southwestinbloom.org.uk |
Heart of
England in Bloom
www.heartofenglandinbloom.co.uk |
Wales in
Bloom
www.walesinbloom.org.uk |
North
West in Bloom
www.northwestinbloom.co.uk |
Yorkshire
in Bloom
www.yorkshireinbloom.co.uk |
London in Bloom
www.londoninbloom.co.uk |
South & South
East in Bloom
www.sseib.com |
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Put a Sparkle in
YOUR Neighbourhood
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Are
your local streets in need of brightening up? Would you like to
get to know your neighbours and make a difference in your
community? The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is calling for
entries to the Britain in Bloom It’s Your Neighbourhood
Neighbourhood scheme, their campaign to encourage small
volunteer-led communities to improve their local environments.
The scheme
helps local people to work together to transform their
surroundings. People taking part have reported a safer, cleaner
and more attractive neighbourhood and a thriving community
spirit.
RHS
Britain in Bloom Chairman of Judges Roger Burnett says, “Small
things can make a big difference. The It’s Your Neighbourhood
scheme encourages communities to use sustainable planting to
enhance their local streets; start recycling; promote
biodiversity and care for their surroundings. It’s free to
enter and open to all.”
Campaigner
Mary Armstrong is one of five residents at the Irk Valley Estate
It’s Your Neighbourhood community in Manchester who came
together to overcome problems such as burned out and derelict
buildings, vandalism and the general degradation of their
housing estate. The small group secured funding from their
council and got the other residents excited about making a
difference, from there they were able to clean up and green up
their small estate.
Mary says
that fixing up the area has had a very positive impact on her
fellow residents. “The flowers are just a very small part of
what we have done – the social aspects are far more important.
The whole thing has put the heart back into the community and
people now take a pride in where they live. It’s changed the
whole aspect on the estate. Everyone is doing their bit to make
the area outside their houses look clean and tidy, with planters
filled with flowers and hanging baskets on display.”
The
It’s Your Neighbourhood scheme is organised by the RHS, the
UK’s leading gardening charity, and is part of the wider
Britain in Bloom initiative, supported by Anglian Home
Improvements.
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Top Tips from RHS Britain in Bloom
Judges
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Plant climbers at the base of walls
that regularly suffer from graffiti.
Plant shrubs at the junction
of pathways where people shortcut over the grass.
Offer to build some raised beds in the garden of the local sheltered accommodation.
Form a group to help elderly people maintain their front gardens.
Look out for bits of abandoned land, they often have self seeded saplings growing on them, ask the landowner if you can manage this land for wildlife.
Offer cuttings and divisions to your
neighbours, develop a seed swap with fellow gardeners and split packets of seeds.
Talk to your neighbour about replacing the fence with hedges or shrubs.
Negotiate with your local supermarket to manage a flower bed or two in their car park to develop a more diverse display.
Remove some of the paving on the drive-way and plant up with ground cover.
Plant a mini meadow in a neglected area.
Offer to help maintain a school garden during the holidays.
Encourage your local council to plant more trees and have an ‘adopt a tree’ scheme.
Identify street furniture that is defunct and could be removed by the council.
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