Budding gardeners and green-fingered enthusiasts are invited to enter their pride and joy to Wight In Bloom this year.
With greater emphasis placed on the benefits of being outside and the mental health gains from gardening, more and more of us are turning to horticulture as a way of relaxing.
Wight In Bloom, organised by Visit Isle of Wight, is the annual competition that recognises those that have put in the effort to make the most of their surroundings.
With categories ranging from Best Small Front Garden to Pride of Place Floral Project and from Best Container Garden to Best Commercial Garden, with many others in between, there is something for every keen gardener to enter.
Event co-ordinator Zoe Stroud said:
“We are delighted Wight in Bloom is returning in 2023. We have held a Judges Day with Peter Holman, Chairman South and South East in Bloom, to prepare the judges for the task ahead.
“We are looking forward to seeing the Island’s gardens and encourage you to enter. It doesn’t matter what size your garden is and it doesn’t have to be full of flowers. Judging covers a wide range of elements including range of plants, design, sustainability and horticulture practice.”
Don’t miss the deadline
We’re being urged to enter our own creations to the competition before 5pm on 11th June, ahead of a July award ceremony at Albert Cottage Hotel, where the host will be the Wight In Bloom patron and well-respected gardener and TV presenter, Alan Titchmarsh.
Find an entry form at Island garden centres or use the online form.
Garden centres include:
- Busy Bee Garden Centre, Brading Road, Ryde
- Care in the Garden, Park Road, Wootton
- Forest View Nursery, Forest Road, Newport
- Honnor & Jeffery (Newport Road, Lake and Afton Road, Freshwater)
- Jubilee Garden Centre, Newport Road, Branstone
- Medina Garden Centre, Staplers Road, Wootton
- Thompsons Garden Centre, Watery Lane, Sandown
Criteria
The judges scores will be divided equally between the following five criteria:
- OVERALL IMPRESSION – initial impact of the garden
- DESIGN/LAYOUT – use of plants/features/range of plants etc
- HORTICULTURAL PRACTICE – cultivation & maintenance/quality of plants/layout etc
- INNOVATION – creative design, use of form and colour, use of features/furniture/infrastructure etc
- SUSTAINABILITY – composting, wildlife friendly, recycling and use of natural resources are just some of the elements that our judges will be looking out for.
Categories
- Best small front garden (under 15 sq metres)
- Best large front garden (over 15 sq metres)
- Best small tourist attraction garden (free-to-enter and paid admission attractions are eligible – visitors up to 75k pa)
- Best large tourist attraction garden (free-to-enter and paid admission attractions are eligible – visitors over 75k pa)
- Best commercial garden (public house, restaurant, shop, cafe, business, hotel & all other visitor accommodation)
- Pride of Place floral project (community displays, shopping areas, church grounds – includes town and parish councils)
- Best young people initiative (schools, pre-schools, youth groups and individuals)
- Best edible garden (mix of flowers, vegetables, fruit and herbs)
- Best container garden (creative use of tubs, baskets, vertical planting and recycled containers)
- Best care giving complex garden (residential home, retirement complex, nursing environment)
- Overall ‘Best of Year’ winner of the Peggy Jarman Trophy
News shared by Simon on behalf of Visit Isle of Wight. Ed
Image: erda estremera under CC BY 2.0
