It's really important that everyone in Sodbury feels part of Sodbury in Bloom, so if you have ideas for what you'd like to see, please contact Julia Bernau at: or Pat Fryer on 01454 853736.
If you are interested in supporting Sodbury in Bloom, please click here to download and complete our registration form [.doc] and email it to Julia Bernau at: .
You can also visit us on www.facebook.com/SodburyInBloom.
The photographs on this page are kindly supplied by Rich McD Photography.
Getting ready for judging day by was even harder work than usual this year. Because of the very hot weather, the Sodbury in Bloom Team have been having to water in Hatherell’s Yard, Beaufort Mews and the Millennium garden to keep all the plants looking good for judging. This was in addition to all the usual effort put in weeding and tidying in the town centre plus painting the litter bins! The chippings are particularly hard work because of their irregularity but our determined team, with the aid of one or two non-members, had them looking really good. The Team would like to thank everyone who helped in any way to get things ready and Penni Tanner in particular.
Councillor Phil Rumney, Chair of the Town Council, Chris Evans, John Wells, Senior Vice President, Chipping Sodbury Rotary Club, Sister Margaret, Julia Bernau, Sodbury in Bloom Team, Jane Lund, Sodbury in Bloom Team, Jon Wheatley, Chair RHS South West in Bloom
If we could just keep the chippings looking this good all year it would be marvellous. The main problem is cigarette butts which get stuck in the cracks between the cobbles. If people could remember not to drop their cigarette butts on the cobbles but dispose of them responsibly it would be an enormous help. The problem is that when people see cigarette butts on the chippings they will assume its ok to drop their own. If the butts could be cleared away regularly it might make them think twice.
The judge this year was Jon Wheatley, the Chair of RHS South West in Bloom and a Royal Horticultural Society Council member. Because the Sodbury in Bloom Team won the Ayre cup last year we are in the Champion of Champions group. This means that Sodbury in Bloom was one of the top nine groups from the six hundred groups who are RHS South West in Bloom. A gold award in this class would be a great achievement.
Jon was very impressed by the state of the town centre, particularly the litter bins, and also by how fresh all the plants were still looking. One of the things the judges look for is evidence of pride of place and contributions from the community which, hopefully, were amply demonstrated. He was also impressed by the new litter bins which allow for recycling.
The medieval herb garden in Hatherell’s Yard made a great impression, particularly its custodian Sister Margaret. This was planted to support Chipping Sodbury’s 800th Anniversary celebrations in August
Now we have to wait until 4th October to find out how we have done. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for another gold award so please keep your crossed too.
The work on the Community Garden is making good progress thanks to volunteers from Hanson's who have adopted the garden as their project and are providing parties of volunteers which is great news.
The Sodbury in Bloom Team members had already cleared weeds, constructed compost bins and dug a bed to hold all our recycled plants and, now, Hanson's help means that we have a proper path and are ready to go ahead with the hardstanding for the raised vegetable beds.
There is a lot of work to do, but we hope it will give people who don't have any outside space chance to enjoy some gardening.
If you want to know more about the project, or would like to help, please get in touch with us.
Click here to download a plan for the garden [.pdf]
The Sodbury in Bloom Clean Up Team meets several times a month throughout the year to carry out regular litter-picking in and around Chipping Sodbury.
If you have any time to spare you would be very welcome to join us whenever you can, as a one-off, once a month, or more regularly for what is basically a walk and a chat whilst making a big difference to the look of the town and the environment.
For more information telephone Naomi on 01454 314476.
The work to realign the stones and smooth out the ground on the Smarts Green Roundabout is now complete and it all looks super.
Thanks must go to contractors Jim and James Fannon for their hard work.
The stones are positioned at the points of the compass and this ambitious project to install a ring of stones reflects Chipping Sodbury's connection with quarrying.
Here's a selection of photos taken by Rich McD Photography:
The Sodbury in Bloom group are a small band of volunteers who are keen to welcome newcomers.
They meet 10am on the first Thursday of the month by the clock tower to garden around town.
They are also looking for people who might be willing to keep an eye on their local patch, cutting weeds back or planting bulbs as appropriate.
If you have green fingers and fancy enhancing your local patch, please get in touch.
The Sodbury in Bloom logo, seen at the top of this page, was created by Sophie Press from St John's Mead Primary School as part of a competition.
Sodbury in Bloom is also supported by:
RHS Britain in Bloom is the UK’s largest community gardening campaign, involving hundreds of thousands of people.
As part of RHS Britain in Bloom – and its sister campaign, RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood – volunteers in cities, towns, villages, urban communities and neighbourhoods work together to improve their local environment, using gardening as a tool.
The Sodbury In Bloom committee co-ordinates Chipping Sodbury's participation in Britain in Bloom.
Points are awarded for:
The long term benefit of the Project will be to make a lasting improvement to the community for everyone to enjoy, young and old, residents and visitors as well as for future generations.
To find out more, visit: www.rhs.org.uk/communities
@mysodbury