Planting has begun
Meon Valley Nursery are able to supply us with a limited number of plants each day and so we have devised a rota using a limited number of people each day over a period of a week. This has also meant that we are able to comply with social distancing rules.
Slowly the floral displays will appear. They will develop over the coming months. We hope you enjoy them.
A special thank you to our local firemen who deposited thousands of litres of water onto the very dry beds just before planting began.
Don’t forget to enter our Annual Floral Competition by 30th June
As we all spend more time at home we will be continuing with our floral competition though with a different way of judging. Full details can be found by clicking on this link
Most attractive bee and butterfly friendly area
This is a new category which we are introducing for our Annual Floral Competition, judged in July.
This area can be either in a front or rear garden.
It can be a corner plot, a border or a series of containers;
as large or as small as you like;
as colourful or themed as you choose;
just wildflowers or a mixture of shrubs and flowers.
That’s up to you , but it must contain plants beneficial to bees or butterflies or both and be attractive to look at too.
Wild flower areas
In mid-April we strimmed, raked and scarified our two wild flower areas, Hoe Road roundabout and the top of Tangier Lane. Then we scattered our wild flower seeds. Very slowly these are beginning to germinate. Hoe Road is ahead of Tangier Lane as it has been watered regularly by a local resident. We will publish photographs as soon as possible.
We had intended for the experimental wildflower swathes on Old Station Roundabout to be cut back and allowed to grass over but this hasn’t happened and so we are allowing them to grow, unmanaged. It will be interesting to see what appears!
As you drive into Bishop’s Waltham you will see new signs announcing that we were voted village of the year in 2019. Bishop’s Waltham in Bloom has played a part in achieving this accolade. Local residents are involved with planting up the flower beds in May, in dead-heading and weeding the beds throughout the summer and early autumn, in entering our Annual Floral Competition and, along with local businesses, in sponsoring the hanging baskets and planters which adorn the centre of Bishop’s Waltham during the summer months.
Without the support of local people In Bloom could not achieve all we do.
Why not join us in May or June and play your part in planting up the beds.