Staff, students and volunteers at Bridgwater College’s The Walled Gardens of Cannington are celebrating after supporting Cannington in Bloom with their winning entry in South West in Bloom.

They achieved success by winning Gold and the Cox Cup, for the Best Large Village in the South West. Britain in Bloom is Europe’s biggest community gardening campaign and is run by the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS).

The South West In Bloom presentation was held in the prestigious Britannia Royal Naval College, in Dartmouth, and the presenter of the awards and Cox Cup, was Jonathan Dimbleby.

A new partnership with Cannington in Bloom was announced in 2014 which saw the College’s horticultural expertise shared with the hard-working and dedicated team of volunteers, who make up Cannington in Bloom. The College supported Cannington in Bloom’s entry with specific collaborative projects. Volunteers and students built wildlife habitats and bug hotels, students planted barrier baskets for a spring display, to be enjoyed by local residents, and evening lectures were carried out by John Addison, a well-respected RHS College lecturer and judge. Volunteers at The Walled Gardens designed a border in line with the RHS campaign ‘Greener Streets: Better Lives’, which included flowers, as well as edible produce for the public to pick.

Dave Tomaney, from Cannington in Bloom said,

“Our partnership with Bridgwater College’s Cannington Centre and The Walled Gardens of Cannington has really helped Cannington in Bloom to maximise its horticultural credentials and develop our planting throughout the village. They have been an essential part of our success this year.”

Liz Brown, a volunteer at the Walled Gardens for six years said,

“It is always a pleasure to work at The Walled Gardens on a Wednesday afternoon. The work is varied, the surroundings are so pleasant. All the volunteers are treated as valued members of the grounds’ team, and are given the opportunity to voice their ideas and opinions on the Gardens’ design.”

The judges visited The Walled Gardens and Bridgwater College’s Community Orchard as part of their tour of Cannington in July. The Gardens are maintained to the highest horticultural standards, as recognised by the judges in their feedback. Bridgwater College was proud to receive four nominations for the Judges Discretionary Awards which are to recognise excellence in a particular area. These were for Best Landscape, Best Horticultural Display, Outstanding Contributions by Youth, and Outstanding Specific Project.

Jayne Alcock, Grounds and Gardens Supervisor said,

“I was absolutely thrilled to hear how well the team had done. The students, gardeners and volunteers worked extremely hard leading up to judging day to ensure that everything was looking stunning. This truly was a team effort, with so many groups and individuals across the village involved. Brymore Academy produced some stunning floral displays around Cannington this summer and The Walled Gardens donated plants to Cannington Health Centre and Cannington Church of England Primary School. These have put a smile on many people’s faces and I truly believe that gardening has the power to change lives, for the better. Cannington has a long and proud history of horticultural excellence and we are all very proud to continue this tradition.”