Gardeners – you may wish put down your trowels and pick up your pens – it’s time to enter Sutton in Bloom.
The best of the winning entries will go on to represent the borough at the prestigious London in Bloom awards in September where Sutton’s green-fingered residents have traditionally done very well.
Sutton In Bloom – a winning entry
There are five different categories, so eager horticulturalists will all be able to find some way to show off their gardening skills.
- Best front garden: Sponsored by Times Square. Judges are looking for any attractive layout. Entries must be visible to passers-by. Winner – Engraved trophy and £50 garden voucher. Runner-up – £25 garden voucher
- Best business frontage: Sponsored by The House of Flowers. Owners of business premises can show off their eye-catching creations. Winner – £50 garden voucher
- Best allotment garden: Sponsored by Recognition Awards. This category aims to celebrate hard-working growers with excellent plots. Winner – £50 garden voucher. Runner-up – £25 garden voucher
- Best school garden: Sponsored by Woodcote Green Garden Centre and Nurseries. This category aims to encourage youngsters to plant and maintain a school garden. Winner – Engraved trophy and £50 garden voucher. Runner-up £25 garden voucher
- Best community garden: Sponsored by the Sutton Guardian. Awarded to either a group of gardens, frontages of buildings or areas of ground where displays are created specifically for shared benefit. Winner – £50 garden voucher.
Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of Sutton’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said: “Our borough is one of the greenest and most beautiful in London and that is in large part due to the hard work of our residents
“I know that we have some very, very talented gardeners in the borough and I look forward to seeing the results of all their hard work.”
Last year the borough as a whole received a prestigious Silver Gilt rating in the London in Bloom awards and Audrey and Michael Fawcett, of Carshalton won a fantastic overall second place in the front garden category to add to their victory in 2009.
Entries must be in by Friday 21 June. Entry forms are available from libraries, council offices or downloaded from www.sutton.gov.uk.