On the morning of Thursday 24th July, RHS Anglia in Bloom judges Julia Smith and Simon White arrived to evaluate the town.
Following three heat waves this summer, it was inevitable that the long-anticipated judging day would be rainy. Brandon has never been judged in rain before; in fact on Julia’s last visit to Brandon, on 19th July 2022, it was the hottest day ever recorded at 38.4C!
Our 3-hour route started at The Heritage Centre, where we were welcomed by the manager Jenny Brocklehurst. A 15-minute presentation was held at the centre starting with an opening speech by Brandon in Bloom director, Gary Brocklehurst, followed by viewing presentation boards showing the groups activities over the past year. Before leaving the centre, a speech from the Jane Austen Novel ‘Persuasion’ was read to the judges by Weeting All Star Performers (WASPs), who were all dressed in full regency outfits.
After the presentation the judges were given a demonstration of the water butt planters that are dotted around the town centre, including at the Heritage Centre. They seemed very impressed by the design and use of space. It was then onto the Rose Garden, followed by the wildlife area at Wellington Close.
A car journey took us to Glade Academy to meet with teachers Mrs Peck & Ms Street along with some pupils from the school, who kindly attended even though the school had closed for the summer. The pupils and teachers have been working hard to improve the school’s outdoor areas, and we were greeted with lots of colourful planters that had been planted by the children. We took a walk around the grounds to the vegetable plots which have a solar pump keeping the vegetables watered from a water butt during the holidays – a very clever idea! The judges later presented a certificate to be given to Glade Academy in recognition of the efforts in a ‘Young Persons’ project.
It was then back into the car and onto Brandon Country Park where we met with rangers from West Suffolk Council, Sarah Austin and Paula Wahl, along with volunteers who work at the centre every Thursday. The judges were shown around the walled garden and the lake.
From here we headed to the Friendly Bench on Bury Road, where the Brandon Happy to Sing Choir joyfully sung three specially chosen songs for the day. The judges really appreciated the entertainment, clapping and singing along despite the heavy rain! They were shown the community vegetable planters and particularly liked the cut flower bed, including our GOLD raspberry canes. The sensory planting at the Friendly Bench provided the perfect backdrop to another performance by WASPs, this time a reading from Sense and Sensibility from ‘Mr & Mrs Bennett’.
We took a quick visit to the library, then our King’s Coronation Garden, followed by the volunteer’s area at ‘The Hive’. The judges were very impressed by the solar panels and how tidy the area was.
We headed to over to Market Hill and the judges got a glimpse of the Wedge Regency Display. Our judges were shown the town sign planter, wonderfully cared for by Brandon Town Keepers, and they noted the unusual orange dark leaved Dahlias chosen by Simon Hobson from West Suffolk Council. We also pointed out the brilliant children’s games painted on the market square by our town council.
It was then onto the Regency Zoo, created by Craig from the Hare Salon. Three shop windows dressed with various animals hand painted by Craig. The patchwork flamingo underplanted with pink loosestrife was noted by the judges for time it must have taken to create.
Turn around and we were shortly at the old ‘Corner Shop’ parasol window display. This was the idea of Brandon in Bloom director, Claire Watts, to celebrate 30 years of Anglia in Bloom. Assisted by volunteers to decorate the parasols, the decorative display was created by Claire along with Susan Nutt and Gill Flack. The judges noted how inspired the display was in using an empty shop. Our thanks to Mike at the Carpet Shop for access and Chase Timber Products for lending us the trellis.
Brandon in Bloom director, Rachel Sobiechowski, then went on to demonstrate her latest favourite gardening tool, a pollution monitor. Being a rainy day, the pollution levels were lower than usual, however particulate matter levels still read as ‘moderate’. The judges were impressed with our solution to use planting to capture the potentially dangerous particulates.
It was finally time to visit our showpiece area, the Wedge. Firstly, a stop at Fred’s new green wall then to admire the fan trained fruit trees which are currently full of fruit including peaches! And the three bed displays where it was noted our use of previous display pieces; the judges liked the repainting of the teacups by volunteer Serena Queeney.
Brandon in Bloom volunteers then stepped in for a group photo and our three hours were complete.
Following a refreshment break the judges went on to visit neighbourhood projects at Princes Close (Bruce Weetman), Brandon Allotments including the community flower garden, St Peter’s Centre (formerly Church Institute), The Avenue to view the Jane Austen lanterns created by Brandon Creative Forum, Green Road (Val & Jenny Puttock and Sam Vare) and to the Harvest Centre to meet with Jean Samtula and other volunteer gardeners.
After a coffee, cake and sandwiches provided by the Harvest Centre it was time to wave goodbye to the judges at around 5:15pm. An extremely long day for our volunteers who had worked exceptionally hard in the run up to judging. We received an email from our judges on Friday 25th, thanking us for the day stating “Just to say thank you very much for your hospitality yesterday, we had a most enjoyable day and met with some enthusiastic volunteers who obviously care very much for their local environment”. Now we wait for the results on 4th September, held at a ceremony at Burgess Hall in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
A very big thank you to everyone who participated not just on judging day but throughout the past 12 months. Especially to our team of regular bloomers who, as you all know, are out in all weathers. Our thanks also go to all our sponsors without whom we wouldn’t have any funding to be able to create our floral displays to brighten up our town. We must also thank the street cleansing and horticultural teams from West Suffolk Council, who were out in force tidying our town in preparation for judging.
Finally thank you to our supporters; your cheers, beeps, and messages of support really mean the world to us.
The results of the campaign are just a bonus, through Brandon in Bloom our town benefits from a cleaner, brighter, improved environment for all of us to enjoy.
Britain in Bloom judges arrive on 6th August, for judging on 7th August. So, it’s no rest for the team just yet!
See our full gallery below.
