Community gardeners throughout the south west have been celebrating a haul of medals in the annual RHS Britain in Bloom competition.
Kingsbridge won a gold medal in the Champion of Champions category, narrowly missing out on the top title to the Scottish city of Perth.
The Devon market town impressed with its pollinator-friendly planting, including the town square’s main bed bursting with plants beloved by bees and woven willow arch marking the 800th anniversary of the town being granted a Royal Charter.
Bath’s Business Improvement District (BID) and St Just in Cornwall joined Kingsbridge in securing gold medals. A first-time entrant as a BID, Bath’s horticulture took centre stage in the historic city, with numerous planters greening the streets and pedestrianised areas, many bursting with edibles including herbs, salad crops and espaliers of fruiting apples, a nod to the area’s traditional apple orchards. The ‘Wild Walcot’ project, creating a green corridor for wildlife along Walcot Street, was another standout.
St Just, close to Land’s End and a World Heritage Site for its mining history, wowed with its floral displays, despite the challenging conditions of growing on an exposed coast with poor granite subsoil.
Finalists are judged not only on their floral displays but environmental and community efforts. Each was visited by a pair of RHS judges over a fortnight from the end of July.
