Town and village in Northumberland among finalists for Britain in Bloom 2024

Holywell has been shortlisted in the large village category while Cramlington is named as a large town category finalist.

The nominations follow success at the regional Northumbria in Bloom competition, where Holywell’s “exciting and colourful” planting schemes helped it win best large village and Cramlington won best overall entry, best large town, and the Percy Boydell Award.

Northumbria in Bloom is one of 17 regional competitions from which high performing entries are selected to compete in the UK finals.

In a post on Facebook, volunteer group Holywell in Bloom said: “We are delighted and honoured to be considered for this great nomination, so naturally we have accepted this opportunity.

“We have a bit of planning now to be getting on with and will update on this page and our notice boards with our progress.

“As always, anyone interested in helping or supporting the group, please contact us.”

To celebrate the nomination, Holywell in Bloom will distribute a ‘friendship pot’ to 60 village residents.

Cramlington Town Council deputy clerk Adam Harvey said: “We are not sitting on our laurels. It is onwards and upwards as we get ready to show the national judges around Cramlington.”

“As with so many things in our town, community involvement was key to our success and we want to build on that by involving lots of community groups in this year’s entry and presenting the work they do to the judges.”

“We will showcase the environmental work that is happening in schools, share the plans of the town’s ‘friends of’ groups who have already transformed areas such as Valley Park and Doddington Wood, and highlight the success of the community allotment, tree planting schemes, and litter picking campaigns.”

“And, of course, our own operations team will produce stunning floral displays in our flower towers, entrance features, and roadside beds, with a mix of bedding, perennial and wildflower displays.”

“It is going to be a blooming brilliant year for Cramlington.”

The theme for this year’s awards, the sixtieth anniversary of Britain in Bloom, will be friendship, and the RHS will be sending over two million ‘friendship flower seeds’ to all nominated groups.

RHS community development manager Kay Clark said: “While planting trends may change and environmental practices evolve, the belief that plants and communal green spaces are important for creating healthy and happy communities endures.

“Britain in Bloom groups across the UK work to enhance the local environment, share skills and knowledge, and create opportunities to improve local well-being.

“In this special anniversary year, we have chosen the theme of friendship, to highlight the way in which community gardening can bring people together and enrich lives.”

Competition finalists can be awarded gold, silver gilt, silver or bronze awards. The winner of each Britain in Bloom category will compete to be named the overall 2024 winner.

Judges will assess each group this summer according to criteria that evaluate their commitment to improving the local environment, community engagement, and horticultural excellence, before results are announced in the autumn.