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Southport’s win is a ‘horticultural hug’ for a healing community

Southport has won the top award at the Britain in Bloom 2025 UK Finals, a triumph for a community that found solace and strength in the town’s gardens following the tragic killing of three girls in July 2024

Southport has earned the Overall Winner award at the Britain in Bloom 2025 UK Finals, a triumph for a community who used the town’s gardens for healing amid tragedy.

In the aftermath of the tragic events of 29 July 2024, when nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Stancombe were tragically killed during a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop, many volunteers have found in community gardening – a long-established tradition in the Merseyside town – a place to come together.

From the regeneration of the Town Hall Gardens and the creation of a Sensory Garden in Hesketh Park, to the upkeep of one of the UK’s longest continuous herbaceous borders and the conservation of Sefton’s 22-mile protected coastline, 150 volunteers have dedicated more than 40,000 hours over the past year to maintaining the town’s green spaces.

Southport was one of 44 finalists in this year’s Britain in Bloom and has also been recognised as the Coastal category winner for achieving Gold in each of the three judging criteria – horticultural excellence, environmental care and community engagement.

A ‘horticultural hug’ for the community

From left to right, the Lord Street in Bloom volunteers Pauline Morris, Helen Marshall, Nicky Plaistow and Nicola Dennis
Bloom judges were ‘bowled over’ by the participation, horticultural excellence and environmental care evident in every corner of Southport. “From the very start of our tour in Lord Street to the finish in the Botanical Gardens, the route had horticultural gems, fabulous environmental and biodiversity initiatives, and was totally litter- and graffiti-free, with not a faded bloom in sight!” said judges Lesley Jelleyman and Mary Bagley.

What really struck a chord with them was the extraordinary commitment Bloom volunteers showed when tending to the Town Hall Gardens and the hundreds of floral tributes left in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Helen Marshall went every day for the following seven weeks to arrange the tributes, change their water and trim stems. She is part of Lord Street in Bloom, one of the eight groups that make up Southport in Bloom. The group, led by Pauline Morris, has been active for 13 years, but its numbers have grown following the tragic event.

“The day after the devastating event, a vigil took place in Southport’s Town Hall Gardens to mark the passing of Alice, Bebe and Elsie. It was attended by several hundred people and, in the following hours, flowers began to appear around the central fountain, with pink and white carnations, roses and chrysanthemums being the most popular choices,” Helen said.

Hundreds of flowers, toys and ‘Swiftie’ bracelets were laid at the Town Hall Gardens in the three girls’ memory
On 20 August 2024, King Charles III visited the Town Hall Gardens and met the Lord Street in Bloom volunteers
Football clubs, politicians, local churches and mosques paid their respects to the town. Businesses provided scores of buckets to keep the flowers fresh, and even King Charles III visited, thanking the volunteers and bringing a wreath of flowers grown at Highgrove – with red and pink roses, bright blue irises and a deep pink protea at the centre.

“That sea of colourful, fragrant flowers felt like a horticultural hug in those difficult days. Undertaking the task has been an absolute privilege and a source of great pride for our group. We’ll be looking after the gardens for many years to come,” Helen said.

That sea of colourful, fragrant flowers left for Alice, Bebe and Elsie felt like a horticultural hug in those difficult days.

Helen Marshall, Southport in Bloom volunteer
In the following months, those displays weren’t lost. Some of the donated flowers were planted in the beds around the Town Hall, along with 3,000 spring bulbs that replaced old ferns and weeds. As a tribute to the girls, wooden planters were also built and filled with wildlife-friendly plants, including cosmos, yarrows, geraniums, marigolds and hebes. Soft colours were chosen to echo the ribbons left in the girls’ memory.

Beds around the Town Hall were regenerated after the tragedy
Pollinator-friendly flowers, mainly pink and white, were planted in the girls’ memory
Now, in accordance with the wishes of the girls’ families, the gardens will be transformed into a welcoming, child-friendly and family-focused space for open-air performances. The £10 million regeneration project has been funded by the UK Government, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Sefton Council.

“The community’s compassion has been a source of comfort to all affected through their darkest days. The shared grief, countless acts of kindness and especially the commitment to honouring the memory of Alice, Bebe and Elsie have meant more than words can express,” said Marion Atkinson, Leader of Sefton Council.

“We are proud of the incredible work our volunteers carry out in Southport. Winning Britain in Bloom is an opportunity for us to show how much we love this town,” added John Dempsey, Engagement Officer at Green Sefton, the service responsible for maintaining green spaces as part of Sefton Council, which works side by side with Bloom volunteers.

The community’s compassion has been a source of comfort to all affected through their darkest days.

Marion Atkinson, Leader of Sefton Council

An extraordinary herbaceous border

The Friends of Rotten Row have won the Community Green Flag every year since 2015
Alongside the Town Hall Gardens, Bloom judges praised Southport’s ‘absolutely stunning’ Rotten Row, a popular attraction to the seaside town and one of the UK’s longest continuous herbaceous borders. Stretching over 3,843 square metres, Rotten Row was saved from being grassed over in 2011 by a team of 30 volunteers, who have since enhanced it with 250,000 new plants – from heritage varieties of Rudbeckia to the striking pineapple flowers of Eucomis.

It’s divided into six sections, each with different growing conditions. “Coastal varieties like sea holly and sea aster thrive in border one, which has sandy soil, but they wouldn’t survive in the very boggy border six,” said Karen Rigby, Chair of Friends of Rotten Row. The group meets twice a week to maintain the border and won a Gold medal at the Southport Flower Show 2025.

Brian Quinn, founder of Friends of Rotten Row and Chair from 2011 and 2024, and his successor Karen Rigby

Half a century of botanical history

The Botanic Gardens Community Association was formed in 2011 to prevent the historic heritage park from closing, after the Council cut funding
Another jewel in the crown of Southport in Bloom is the Botanic Gardens in Churchtown, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2025. When Sefton Council cut funding for the management of the historic heritage park in 2011, volunteers stepped in to keep it running and founded the Botanic Gardens Community Association. Today, the group has more than 70 members who work tirelessly to maintain the flower beds, the aviary and a 36-metre-long fernery housing over 500 species.

This fern paradise – a Victorian building that has been open since 1876 – is lovingly cared for by Ann and David Cobham, a couple in their eighties who hold the keys to the fernery and ensure it can be visited by the public every day. Ann, who for many years created window displays for the historic women’s shop Du Barry’s Liverpool on Lime Street, now applies her creative skills to designing the Botanic Gardens’ flower beds. Her latest project was the Dementia Garden, opened earlier in 2025.

Ann and David Cobham in the fernery
Natural Alternatives team at work
“This corner used to be a boathouse, but over the years it became a rubbish dump. We’ve renovated it and transformed it into a place where older people and volunteers can sit down and relax,” said Ann. The wooden planters were built by Natural Alternatives, a community engagement programme run by Sefton Council that gives people with additional needs the chance to engage in outdoor community and nature projects. “We filled them with perennials, which are easier to maintain, and chose purple, pink and white flowers to add a peaceful atmosphere to the space.”

This corner was a rubbish dump, but we’ve transformed it into a Dementia Garden for older people and volunteers.

Ann Cobham, Bloom volunteer
Now, the Botanic Gardens Community Association is working with Sefton Council on a match-funding appeal to raise up to £5 million through National Lottery Heritage Funding to improve and conserve the historic park.

A sensory feast for people and wildlife

Over the summer, the Sensory Garden has attracted a great number of pollinators
Opened in March 2025, the Sensory Garden in Hesketh Park was created at zero cost, filled with cuttings from Bloom volunteers’ own gardens alongside plants and seeds donated by passers-by. All the senses are engaged here, with lavender and fennel introduced for scent, strawberries for taste and colourful displays of cosmos and great mullein for visual impact. Grasses add tactile interest and create a gentle sound as they sway in the wind.

The garden also aims to attract wildlife. Over the summer months, the space has already seen a noticeable increase in pollinators, especially butterflies and dragonflies. A team of ten volunteers from the Hesketh Park Heritage Group meets every Friday and Sunday to maintain the garden, with future plans to involve nearby schools in its care and development.

Unique habitat by the coast

Sefton’s coastline is a very important site for bird migration, especially for the pink-footed goose, Arctic tern and wading birds
From the Ribble Estuary in the north to the Mersey in the south, the 22-mile Sefton’s protected coastline is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with its salt marshes and dunes at the centre of numerous educational projects. Hundreds of volunteers look after the site in partnership with the Green Sefton team by cleaning the beach, monitoring wildlife and tackling invasive species. Sea buckthorn, bamboo and Japanese rose are removed to preserve the delicate sand habitat and allow species like the natterjack toad, sand lizard, dune tiger beetle and dune helleborine to survive. In total, 1,200 species of plant have been recorded in this unique landscape.

“This conservation work is carried out in winter to reduce disturbance to breeding species, but there is always something to do. Weather conditions can be challenging beside the wild Irish Sea, but the rare species that call this place home – and our volunteers – are made of sterner stuff and are adapted to the rigours of a northern climate!” said John Dempsey.

Darren Share, Britain in Bloom’s Chair of Judges, said: “Southport has proved how important community is, especially in times of tragedy. We were bowled over by the wonderful commitment of local people contributing to this marvellous seaside resort. Securing Gold across all three judging categories – horticulture, environment and community – they have made an outstanding contribution to improving their local area, benefitting residents and visitors alike.

“Everyone is doing their bit to enhance the town through horticultural excellence and many volunteers have found in community gardening a place to come together. This is what Britain in Bloom is about.”

Southport has proved how important community is, especially in times of tragedy.

Darren Share, Britain in Bloom’s Chair of Judges

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