Get your gardening gloves on - it’s competition time
Last year’s Birmingham in Bloom winners spill the beans on why thy love gardening
The search is on for the cream of the council tenant crop, with the launch of this year’s Birmingham in Bloom competition.
And the annual gardening competition for council tenants and leaseholders is especially keen to hear from young gardeners under 16 and new gardeners who haven’t entered before – though diehard gardeners are welcome too.
Joan Goodwin, chair of the City Housing Liaison Board, said: “Year on year, Birmingham in Bloom celebrates the best of gardening and of community spirit, recognising the efforts people go to in their gardens and neighbourhoods. Tenants and leaseholders bring colour to their streets with vibrant displays and share vegetables in communal gardens. This year we want to encourage a new generation of gardeners to grow and so we have two new categories – ‘Best young gardener’ and ‘Best newcomer gardener’. Please pick up an entry form at your local library or leisure centre, or apply online via the council’s website.”
Cabinet member for Housing and Homes, Cllr Peter Griffiths, added: “Every year our tenants and leaseholders bring something new to the table with colourful flower displays and impressive gardens. Our communities show us that they want cleaner, greener streets and that they are prepared to work hard towards this goal. Thanks to continued support from our sponsors, this competition brings together tenants and leaseholders, the Housing Liaison Boards and Birmingham City Council. It shows what we can achieve when we work together in our communities and neighbourhoods.”
The deadline for entries is 12 August 2016. Entry forms are available at local libraries and leisure centres or online at Birmingham.gov.uk/inbloom
There are lots of great prizes on offer, with winners from each of the city’s ten districts and overall citywide winners in the following categories –
- Best kept garden
- Best balcony, window box, hanging baskets or container
- Best vegetable patch, container, or greenhouse
- Best communal garden
- Best young gardener (aged under 16)
- Best newcomer gardener
District winners and their guests will be invited to the awards ceremony, to be held at the Banqueting Suite in the Council House in October.
Cash prizes, trophies and gardening tools are sponsored by:
Cromwell, Glendale, Keepmoat, Quadron idverde, The Conservation Volunteers, Wates and Willmott Dixon.
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For further media information contact Press and PR Officer Debbie Harrison on 303 4476
