Britain in Bloom 2021 style

Summer 2021 heralds the welcome return of the annual Britain in Bloom competition after last year’s necessary but disappointing cancellation due to restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic.

So, this year’s competition is extra special for many reasons. It will also be a little bit different. With the threat of Covid still lurking, various regions are organising their competitions in slightly different ways with contingencies in place should the situation around Covid suddenly change. Many In Bloom organisations are hoping to be able to have face to face assessments at their regional level, but arrangements will not be completely finalised until the next major government announcement on 21^st June.

How will 2021 be different?

The national competition will also look different in 2021 and as a result, this year’s competition has been renamed the RHS Community Awards.

The awards aim to celebrate the amazing work and that has gone on during the pandemic, whilst making the safety of judges, participants and their communities paramount. So, although there will be no physical judging tours for the national finals, the awards will celebrate the many and varied achievements of In Bloom groups who have continued to improve and support their communities during the difficult last 12 months.

Who can enter the RHS Community Awards? In Bloom groups that have excelled in previous years have been invited to represent their regions. Instead of a physical judging tour, entrants will showcase their work digitally through photos, short videos and accompanying descriptions. An RHS panel of experts will judge the entries, with results announced in September.

The RHS award categories

The awards are comprised of five categories:

1. Nourishing your community: This category focuses on how groups are using food growing as a tool to support their communities and bring people together. At Amberol we are great supporters of growing edibles in our self-watering planters and so we are delighted to see this recognised and celebrated in the awards.
2. Planting with purpose: This category focuses on how groups are using plants and gardens in creative ways to address specific challenges in their communities. Britain in Bloom is all about developing a sense of community and it will be interesting to see what innovative ideas people have come up with.
3. Nature-friendly gardening: This category recognises the work groups are doing to make the spaces they care for wildlife-friendly. This is such an important area of work in a world where green spaces and wildlife habitats are shrinking.
4. Green solutions: This category recognises the work that groups are doing to create nature-based solutions to environmental challenges in their community. This is a critical issue for the world and its inclusion in the awards is an indication of the importance of recognising the effects of climate change and coming up with ways to tackle it. After all, we can all make a small difference.
5. Cultivating your community: This category focuses on how groups are reaching out to include others from their community and enabling more people to enjoy the benefits of growing. For us at Amberol, this sums up what Britain in Bloom is all about.

So, while Britain in Bloom 2021 may not look like previous years, there is still much to celebrate and applaud. We would like to congratulate everyone taking part in this year’s competition at both regional and national levels and wish you all the very best of luck.

For more information about the RHS Community Awards, contact communities@rhs.org.uk.

If you would like to talk to someone at Amberol about how we can help you enhance your community with our range of self-watering planters, litter bins, planterware, benches or picnic tables, email sales@amberol.co.uk or call 01773 830 930.