Ahoghill & Broughshane Going for Gardening Gold

‘Judgement Day’ for Ahoghill will be on Monday, July 30, while the Garden Village of Broughshane can expect the judges to come a-calling on Friday, August 3,

They are among 72 finalists in the 2012 event, picked from more than a thousand cities, towns, villages and urban communities.

Broughshane is in the Champion of Champions category, alongside Cleethorpes, Forres, Stockton and Thornbury and hopes to score top marks and be announced category winner at a prestigious awards ceremony in early October.

RHS National Judges, Jim Knight & John Woodward, will be visiting Broughshane from 11.30-1.30pm to meet and be taken on a tour of the area by local volunteers. They will be assessing projects against three key criteria – horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility.

Ahoghill is in the Small Town category, alongside Sedgefield, Wimborne, Woodstock and Addingham and also hopes to score top marks and be announced category winner at a prestigious awards ceremony in a few months time.

RHS National Judges, Jon Wheatley & Rae Beckwith, will be visiting Ahoghill from 2.30-5pm when they will meet and be taken on a tour of the area by local volunteers. They will also be assessing projects against the three key criteria of horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility.

From major industrial cities to small villages each finalist represents its region/nation and aims to impress the RHS Britain in Bloom National Judges and win its category.

Judges will be scrutinizing projects like wildlife conservation initiatives and public spaces such as parks and community gardens. They will assess everything from the sustainability of a planting scheme, to the cleanliness of a street bench, including how much the community engages local schools.

Roger Burnett, Chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Judging Panel, said: “Our finalists have had to endure difficult weather conditions and ongoing council cuts but this is why I’m even more excited than normal, because I love seeing the imaginative ways communities that overcome challenges.

“It was reported that groups were pulling out of Britain in Bloom because of these problems but, in fact, we’ve had a 10% increase in the number of groups signing up this year. Nothing fazes our volunteers and RHS Britain in Bloom 2012 represents a sense of community spirit and endeavor which is an inspiration to us all.”

On behalf of all the RHS judges Roger wished both Broughshane and Ahogill “the best of luck” and added: “Our visit is not meant to be stressful so please just relax and enjoy yourselves – we’re here to see the marvellous work you’ve done to improve your local areas and we can’t wait to meet you”.