Celebrating Britain in Bloom: standout entrants of the UK Finals 2025
Discover some of the most inspiring volunteers and success stories from the Britain in Bloom UK Finals 2025
Behind every green corner, flower bed and meadow bursting with pollinators is often a Britain in Bloom group striving to make a difference in its community. Equipped with shovels and immense passion, these dedicated volunteers work tirelessly from north to south, east to west, to nurture people, wildlife and the places around them. Here are some of the outstanding winners from the Britain in Bloom UK Finals 2025.
Young Champions
Olivia, Thornbury in Bloom, South Gloucestershire
Olivia, who has been a member of Thornbury in Bloom in South Gloucestershire for several years, has been awarded a Young Champion Award, which recognises inspiring individuals aged 21 or younger at the time of their nomination.
Olivia loves getting involved in Thornbury in Bloom projects with her grandparents
Olivia has always had a passion for nature. She loves hedgehogs and spent this year growing strawberries, potatoes and pumpkins in her garden. She impressed the Britain in Bloom judges with her knowledge of the large
A term generally applied to non-woody, flowering plants that are natural to a particular area and grow there without human assistance. More accurately, British wildflowers normally applies to UK natives including plants introduced into the wild before 1500.
wildflower meadow at Mundy Playing Field in Thornbury, which she helped to plant. She shared details about the meadow, the seeds she had sown and how she cared for the plants. Olivia also showed to be knowledgeable in identifying the various wildflowers – with daisies being her favourites.
Olivia often joins her grandparents on various Thornbury in Bloom projects. “Running up and down scattering the wildflower seeds was huge fun for Olivia,” said her grandmother, Frances Webster. “She loves interacting with the other volunteers and getting stuck in. Prior to the judging, she happily helped pot up some of the planters and swept the high street, weeding as she went.”
Olivia loves interacting with the other volunteers and getting stuck in. Running up and down scattering the wildflower seeds was huge fun for her.
Two other Young Champions were recognised this year for making a positive impact on their local environment: Willow and Bonnie from Sevenoaks in Bloom. Willow was awarded for creating colourful knitted post box toppers, while Bonnie was selected for organising litter picks to raise funds for planting flowers around the community bandstand.
Community Champions
Christine Jones, Llandudno in Bloom, North Wales
Christine Jones is one of eight Community Champion Award winners for 2025
Christine is the driving force behind the Friends of St Tudno’s in Llandudno. A keen conservationist, she has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Great Orme – the limestone headland where St Tudno’s Church is situated – as well as the history of the churchyard. She’s passionate about preserving natural habitats and regularly organises working parties to maintain the area, always with a view to conserving and celebrating the local wildlife.
Christine shares her knowledge through regular newsletters and articles. She has also developed an educational package that is regularly shared with schools in Llandudno and the North West of England during their visits to this part of North Wales. A keen wildlife photographer, Christine can often be found in the churchyard documenting the natural environment.
“It’s a great honour to receive this award, but it’s an honour I share with the Friends of St Tudno’s Church, who work so hard to make our churchyard an attractive and welcoming place for visitors and wildlife,” said Christine.
Christine Jones
“It’s a great honour to receive this award, but it’s an honour I share with the Friends of St Tudno’s Church, who work so hard to make our churchyard a welcoming place for visitors and for wildlife.” – Christine Jones
Alongside Christine, seven other volunteers were recognised with Community Champion Awards for their exceptional commitment and dedication to the Britain in Bloom cause in their communities.
Judges’ Highlights
This year, each of the Britain in Bloom UK Finals judging pairs selected a group from their judging category to shine a spotlight on and celebrate for making a positive impact on the community. Among them are Newcastle-under-Lyme BID, London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Cowpen Bewley Residents’ Association.
Newcastle-under-Lyme BID, Staffordshire
Borderlines is a Bloom initiative that supports people at risk of marginalisation
An initiative launched at the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Borderlines is an example of how the arts can be used to engage people with the work of Britain in Bloom. The project involves individuals and groups experiencing social and economic disadvantage, young people at risk of offending and adults with learning difficulties. Working with the support of the BID, individuals painted, planted and maintained containers in the busy town centre, resulting in an environmental improvement in an area that might otherwise have been overlooked.
Bloom judges were impressed with the approach, which “illustrates creative thinking in community outreach using a range of activities, including horticulture, to better engage people with their environment,” they said. “There is so much to be commended by this collaboration, which could be explored by more Bloom groups and arts organisations.”
London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London
A community allotment has been developed on the site of a former play area
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets forms the core of the East End and is the second most densely populated borough in London. Many residents have limited access to a garden or green space of their own, but the Rocky Group Urban Growers and Bethnal Green Ecology Garden and Nature Reserve have teamed up to create a ‘Grow and Ecology’ project in an inner-city social housing area.
Here, everyone grows to share. About 400 key holders from the adjacent flats have access to the site, where each family has a raised bed as well as access to communal polytunnels. A community allotment has been developed on the site of a former play area and several wildlife habitats have been created.
Each family has a raised bed and access to communal polytunnels
A nature reserve on a former World War II bomb site features an ecological pond
A nature reserve on a former World War II bomb site features a thriving ecological pond, a medicinal herb bed and a mushroom ‘farm’ on tree logs.
Composting is the process by which plant material is heaped together to rot (decompose) to produce compost. Garden or kitchen waste can be broken down over time in a compost bin or heap to produce crumbly organic matter that can be used as a mulch, soil conditioner and a constituent of potting compost.
Composting and water harvesting take place and a forest school also operates here four days a week.
Bloom judges Brendan Mowforth and Andrew Jackson said: “This project is of great importance in terms of providing access to nature, opportunities for growing, health and wellbeing, education and social activities. It shows how areas can be transformed imaginatively into much-valued and loved community facilities for the benefit of local residents and urban wildlife.”
Cowpen Bewley Residents’ Association, County Durham
Wildflower meadows, native plants and pollinator-friendly flowers support pollinators
What began as a post-pandemic effort to reconnect people and nature in the rural village of County Durham has become a year-round, intergenerational movement to create a greener, better place to live. First-time finalist Cowpen Bewley Residents’ Association has been highlighted by Bloom judges for its role in championing biodiversity, creating and maintaining a mosaic of habitats that support
A native plant is one that originated or arrived naturally in a particular place without human involvement. In the British Isles, native plants are those that were here during the last ice age or have arrived unaided since.
native species and encouraging ecological resilience.
Over the past four years, volunteers have planted 2,500 trees and hedging, 420 of which were planted in 2025 alone. These include native species such as rowan, hawthorn, elder, dog rose, cherry and hazel, all chosen to increase
The variety of living organisms (plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms) in a particular environment. Boosting the biodiversity of your garden has many benefits, including supporting wildlife, improving soil health and reducing the likelihood of pest and disease problems.
biodiversity and create long-term wildlife corridors across the village.
A new hedgehog highway, connecting 20 households with apertures cut into fences and gates, allows hedgehogs to move safely between spaces and find food, shelter and nesting spots. Safe spaces such as house martin nesting cups and swift boxes have also been installed to help the bird population thrive, especially the local tree sparrow, whose numbers are in steep decline across the UK. The volunteers have recorded statistics to help champion wildlife conservation.
The residents of Cowpen Bewley are totally committed to living with nature.
The village is a chemical and peat-free zone. Wildflower meadows, native plants and pollinator-friendly flowers support bees, butterflies and other wildlife, including rabbits, which are free to roam throughout the village.
“The residents of Cowpen Bewley are totally committed to living with nature. Throughout the village there are carefully planned planted areas and crafted items which encourage wildlife,” said Bloom judges Rae Beckwith and James Cordingley.
Category winners
Garstang in Bloom, Lancashire
The plant selection at River View in Garstang was commended by Bloom judges
From the use of
Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.
perennials in all the town’s pocket gardens to their intelligent approach to water management, Garstang in Bloom volunteers have impressed the judges with their commitment to sustainability.
Among the outstanding features that earned the group the Small Town category award are an array of horticultural gems showcasing a mix of
Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.
perennial planting intertwined with shrubs and bedding, as well as the 500-acre Millennium Green that serves as a natural flood alleviation area.
Wildlife is supported throughout Garstang through various initiatives, such as bee and bird baths with stones to aid access, discreetly placed log piles in several pocket gardens, dead hedges to provide safe habitats for insects and birds, bug hotels, bird boxes and a bird hide. The group also collects rainwater using a harvesting tank supplied by a local supermarket and water butts installed around the town, helping to monitor and minimise water consumption.
Aberdeen Communities Together, North East Scotland
Aberdeen Communities Together works with 200 community partnerships
True to its name, Aberdeen Communities Together brings together a diverse range of community groups, from small initiatives focused on improving their local areas through gardening to larger projects that help disadvantaged individuals regain control of their lives. The group won the Small City & City category at the 2025 Britain in Bloom UK Finals.
Duthie Park and the David Welch Winter Gardens set the scene for the high standard of horticultural work achieved by Aberdeen Communities Together in 2025. The Duthie Park volunteer gardening group, Parkforce, has been helping manage and maintain a community garden for the past decade, contributing an average of 1,000 hours per year.
On the one-mile-long high street – a key part of the city that has struggled with empty properties – the Union Street ‘The Garden Mile’ project is committed to the regeneration and environmental improvement of the area, thanks to a partnership between volunteers and institutions. Future plans include improving shopfronts and introducing a diverse range of planting with small pockets of seating. Planters and benches are being built by inmates at the local prison.
Bloom judges were particularly impressed by the Fascination of Plants Day, a week-long annual initiative held across several venues in Aberdeen and involving local schools. The programme includes plant sales, workshops and educational activities, providing opportunities for the public to learn more about plant science and wider environmental issues. In 2025, the initiative attracted 500 visitors on its final day alone.
Other stories from the Britain in Bloom UK Finals 2025
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.
