Eden Valley Messenger

JUDGES OUT FOR BRITAIN IN BLOOM

TWO RHS Britain in Bloom judges have spent today, August 12 in Kirkby Stephen but the town will have to wait until September 23 to see if they have beaten off stiff competitions to take a prize.

Kirkby Stephen, who represents Cumbria for the second time in the national event,  is one of 68 UK finalists. And RHS judges Jon Wheatley and Jeff Bates were given a full tour of the town’s blooming successes including the Troves Allotments, children’s garden at Kirkby Stephen Primary School, the local businesses efforts and much more.

They ended their visit with lunch and an opportunity to see a display of photographs and information about the communities efforts for the competition.

Britain in Bloom is one of the largest horticultural campaigns in Europe working year-round to create a cleaner and greener Britain through community action.

Participants can earn top marks in horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility and community participation. The 'in Bloom' journey starts in the regional/national campaigns from which communities are nominated for the finals.

This year’s judges visiting Kirkby Stephen for the finals have a wealth of horticultural experience, working for the royal gardens and city parks.

Jeff Bates’ career in horticulture began in 1970 as an apprentice gardener in the Royal Gardens at Windsor Castle and in the Savill and Valley Gardens in Windsor Great Park, before working in landscape design and construction in Yorkshire and then a period of over twenty years as a senior lecturer in horticulture in Derbyshire.  For the past 18 years he has been a judge for East Midlands in Bloom, and is also currently chairman of EMiB.

Jon Wheatley was brought up on a commercial horticulture nursery in Somerset and trained at Cannington, Wisley and Reading.   He moved to Bristol City Council where he was initially in the Parks Department and progressed to become Divisional Director of Community Leisure.  Jon retired in 2000 and set up a consultancy and a landscape and horticultural maintenance company based on a nursery at Chew Magna.

The winners will be announced at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torbay on Wednesday, September 23. Last year Kirkby Stephen won a Silver in the large village category.

MORE photos and meet the judges on the Gallery page.

CAPTION

KIRKBY Stephen welcomes the RHS Britain in Bloom judges.