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RHS announces Britain in Bloom finalists for 2024

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has today revealed the 52 finalists of the 2024 RHS Britain in Bloom Finals, in the 60th anniversary year of the UK’s biggest gardening competition.

The finalists, selected from across the UK, will compete to be crowned winner in one of 11 categories, and will secure an RHS gold, silver gilt, silver or bronze award. One of the category winners will then go on to be named RHS Britain in Bloom Overall Winner for 2024.

Judges will assess each group according to criteria that evaluate their commitment to improving the local environment, community engagement and horticultural excellence.

Among this year’s finalists in the Small City category is Bath in Bloom, who were the first ever winners of the competition in its inaugural year, six decades ago. Celebrating horticultural excellence and sustainability, the group grow their plants in-house to ensure quality and variety. They take cuttings of native plants from locations across the city to be grown in their own dedicated nursery.

First-time UK finalist Wreay in Bloom, in Cumbria, is proud to represent their rural village. Community and heritage has always been paramount to the group, with a focus on planet-friendly gardening now taking centre stage through the building of community herb gardens in donated raised beds for locals, visitors and wildlife to enjoy.

Bringing people together and making gardening accessible to all remain strong themes among this year’s entrants. Haywards Heath Town is working with local schools, girl guides and scouts to try and ensure that children can get at least 25% of their daily physical activity through gardening. Meanwhile Blooming Milford is planning a Flower and Produce Show for the village for the first time in 30 years, to share the fruits of their labours with local residents and visitors.

Kay Clark, RHS Community Development Manager, 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 wellbeing. In this special anniversary year, we’ve chosen the theme of friendship, to highlight the way in which community gardening can bring people together and enrich lives.”

As part of this year’s anniversary celebrations the RHS will be sharing ‘friendship flower seeds’ to all of the Britain in Bloom groups to celebrate the enduring friendships made through caring for plants as a community and a love of gardening. Over 2 million flowers, including sweet peas, cosmos, nigella, gypsophila, rudbeckias and zinnias will be sown and planted by Bloom groups to create spectacular displays of cut flowers for everyone to enjoy. 

There are 17 Bloom Regions that all hold their own Bloom competitions, from which they nominate their highest-performing entries to compete in the UK Finals. Each of the finalists will be visited by a pair of Britain in Bloom judges in summer 2024, and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in the autumn.

If you are inspired to get involved in community gardening in your area find out more at www.rhs.org.uk/community. 

ENDS

Notes to editors

For further information or images, contact Gina Miller [email protected] or the RHS Press Office at [email protected] / 0207 821 3080.
 
RHS Britain in Bloom Finalists 2024
Full breakdown of the 2024 finalists in their respective categories:
 
Village:
Bedfordshire Woburn in Bloom
Cumbria Wreay in Bloom
Derbyshire Blooming Milford
Shropshire Norton in Bloom
Lancashire Chipping in Bloom
Tyne and Wear Washington Village in Bloom Society
Ulster Donaghmore Horticultural Community
Yorkshire Grassington in Bloom
Large Village:
Lincolnshire Great Coates in Bloom
Guernsey Floral Forest
Northumberland Holywell in Bloom
Scotland Lauder in Bloom
Somerset Cannington in Bloom
Ulster Cullybackey Community Partnership
Wales Saundersfoot in Bloom
Yorkshire Roberttown in Bloom
Small Town:
Essex Frinton in Bloom
Gloucestershire Stonehouse in Bloom
Ulster Tidy Randalstown
Town:
Merseyside Ainsdale in Bloom
Scotland Forres in Bloom
Northamptonshire Upton in Bloom
Somerset Glastonbury in Bloom
Yorkshire Todmorden in Bloom
Large Town:
Anglia St. Ives in Bloom
Greater Manchester Altrincham in Bloom
Northumberland Cramlington
West Sussex Haywards Heath Town Council
Somerset Yeovil in Bloom
Wales Colwyn
Small City:
Leicestershire Loughborough in Bloom
Staffordshire Burton in Bloom
Hampshire Gosport in Bloom
Somerset Bath in Bloom
City:
London London Borough of Havering
Scotland Bonnie Dundee
Wales Wrexham in Bloom
Coastal:
Jersey Parish of St. Helier
Lancashire Heysham Flower Power Heysham Village
Scotland North Berwick in Bloom
East Sussex Bexhill in Bloom
Urban Community:
Staffordshire Winshill in Bloom
London Hale Village London Ltd
Greater Manchester Spotland and Falinge
BIDs:
Hertfordshire Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Cumbria Ulverston Business Improvement District
London Team London Bridge
Devon InExeter
Town Centres & City Centres:
London Canary Wharf Management Limited
Greater Manchester, Rochdale in Bloom – Rochdale Town Centre
Dorset Shaftesbury in Bloom
Surrey Farnham in Bloom – Farnham Town Council
 
 
About RHS Britain in Bloom
  • Along with its sister campaign It’s Your Neighbourhood, Britain in Bloom involves around 3,500 community groups and hundreds of thousands of local volunteers who work year-round to keep our neighbourhoods and streets green, clean and thriving.
  • Bloom groups compete in regional and national heats of the competition before being nominated to the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Finals.
  • Bloom was started by the British Tourist Authority as a way to attract visitors to the UK through floral displays. In 2001, the RHS took over as organisers and have developed the campaign to include greater focus on community participation and environmental responsibility.
  • In 2006, the RHS launched a new grass roots level for Bloom – It’s Your Neighbourhood (IYN) – which is aimed at small volunteer groups (such as youth groups, ‘Friends of’ groups, etc.)
  • Since 1964, Bloom has evolved from what many saw as a rural hanging basket competition to a major socio-environmental campaign that is improving villages, towns and cities across the UK
  • Managed by the RHS in partnership with 17 regions and nations – it covers England, Scotland, Wales and Ulster and Channel Islands. It includes both urban and rural communities.
About the RHS
Since our formation in 1804, the RHS has grown into the UK’s leading gardening charity, touching the lives of millions of people. Perhaps the secret to our longevity is that we’ve never stood still. In the last decade alone we’ve taken on the largest hands-on project the RHS has ever tackled by opening the new RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester, and invested in the science that underpins all our work by building RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science.

We have committed to being net positive for nature and people by 2030. We are also committed to being truly inclusive and to reflect all the communities of the UK.
 
Across our five RHS gardens we welcome more than three million visitors each year to enjoy over 34,000 different cultivated plants. Events such as the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show, other national shows, our schools and community work, and partnerships such as Britain in Bloom, all spread the shared joy of gardening to wide-reaching audiences.

Throughout it all we’ve held true to our charitable core – to encourage and improve the science, art and practice of horticulture –to share the love of gardening and the positive benefits it brings.

For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk.

RHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262
 

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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.