Residents, businesses and community groups in Beverley are being encouraged to enter the Beverley in Bloom Town Competition.
Organised by volunteers, the competition is an opportunity to celebrate the green-fingered skills and gardening expertise that is evident but frequently unacknowledged throughout the town.
Margaret Martin, Beverley in Bloom stalwart, explained: “We have given the competition a rest over the past couple of years so we could plough our efforts into floral displays connected to high profile events, such as the Olympic torch coming through town and the Golden Jubilee events. We now feel the time is right to reintroduce it with a new emphasis on celebrating the work of the whole Beverley community.”
Entry to the competition is free of charge, with categories including residential gardens, businesses, pubs, cafes, schools, community groups and more. Once all applications have been collected, two judges from Beverley in Bloom will visit each entrant to give them each a score. Every entry will then have the chance to be given bronze, silver, silver gilt or gold awards and presented with certificates at an evening reception in September.
Mrs Martin added:
“Although we work closely with Beverley Town and East Riding of Yorkshire Councils, we only have a limited budget to help us provide planters, baskets and floral displays, which for greater effect are usually in areas potentially used by all residents such as the town centre and outside the railway station.”
“However, there are people in all areas OF Beverley helping to brighten up their communities. This ranges from private front gardens and window boxes, to hanging baskets on corner shops and gardens in schools tended by pupils. We want as many people and organisations as possible to enter the competition to we can collectively celebrate the hard work that takes places throughout the town to make Beverley bloom.”
As part of the wide efforts of the group in the wider community, late last year local youngsters helped Beverley in Bloom to plant bulbs in the Admiral Walker Road area.
Margaret added:
“In our own little way and by working together like this, we want to get the community actively engaged in helping to spruce up the green and floral spaces near where they live. Thank you to the youngsters who helped us do this last year – we have plans to do more the same in the future.”
The youngsters involved included Mia (12), Yaren (9), Koray (7) and Nina (6).
Competition entry forms can be collected from Beverley Tourist Information Centre, the Treasure House , G. Jack and Son in Wednesday Market and Beverley Town Council. Alternatively, a PDF version of the application can be downloaded from www.beverley.gov.uk. Completed forms should be returned to the Town Council by the deadline of Saturday 31st May.
Beverley in Bloom would also like to appeal to local businesses that might like to support them in their endeavours, either financially or “in kind”. Any offers of support can be directed to the group via Beverley Town Council.
