A flag in Wakefield mysteriously says In Bloom.The finalists of the 2007 Britain in bloom have been announced.
The Royal Horticultural Society has been behind this using gardening as "an all inclusive campaign to make positive changes to improve local area's.
This can involve floral features, permenant planting, wildflower meadows, planting for nature, growing fruit and vegetables, amongst other things"
Wakefield mass planted display boxes within the city centre, but wants to encourage businesses and schools and the community to participate in making it more attractive.
The council has yet to approve the funds to be made available to buy plants and baskets etc.
As my walk home was an unofficial wakefield in bloom, with the interesting wildflowers i have photographed today just walking back from work.
There was a post recently in Garden Rant about America in Bloom, asking are the British better at the in bloom competitions.
There are winners in the Britain in Bloom competition, medals of Gold, Silver, or Bronze. The judges must clock up some miles traveling around Britain. The categories are based mostly on population from villages to small towns to citys to large cities.
Regional competitions have sprung up as well.Wakefield also enters the Yorkshire in Bloom competitions.
The idea is that all communitys are encouraged to join in, and improve local environments. It has now expanded from floral displays to areas such as cleaning up litter, grafitti, and stopping anti social behaviour.
In one run down inner city estate the making of a small park with tree's and flowers, and benches reduced the anti social behaviour.
The British have always been competitive. Think of the many horticultural competitions there are. To grow the best roses, Dahlias, Orchids,or vegetables, etc for show.
There are prizes. Maybe three people will win the medals. I think you need the prizes to make the competition relevant. To share it with 1200 people defeats the point.
The competitveness encourages the communities to improve themselves, but to compare themselves to other places with similar population sizes or problems.
I still believe in the therapeutic benefits of gardening, and indeed growing anything, planting it. It takes effort, and the good feelings when it has flowered make it worthwhile. It makes people feel good when where they live is brightened up, cleaned up, and time spent making it better.
After 40 years we are still blooming.
