Visit to Wedmore in Bloom
Maureen Moore , Margaret Robathan and Sue Wallis visited ‘Wedmore in Bloom’ on the 18th August to see for themselves what the campaign could do for a village. We were shown around by Jill Morton, chair of the committee and Andrea West.
Well! we were very impressed with the colour, the cohesion and the sense of life which the floral displays brought to the village.
Wedmore has been participating in the RHS in Bloom campaign for four years and we were able to see the difference that this has made to the centre as well as to the few spaces which afforded benched seating at the edge of the village. The changes have been documented in the portfolios maintained over time. Bland, uninspiring and grubby corners were transformed by the enthusiasm of the ‘in Bloom’ working party and by the residents and the business owners.
I met people whose outlook on life had changed from being quite depressed to being interested in the environment and animated by the interaction with others as they participated in the campaign.
Most businesses seem to have participated either by joining in the basic colour scheme or by providing their own displays. They also supported the campaign by giving time and money so that displays and interesting spaces could be provided. The ‘in Bloom’ working party met regularly and shared the labour involved in planting tubs, baskets, or hanging bags with lobelia. To compensate for the time they also had great fun at a range of events which they attended together.
Wedmore had been judged on the previous Tuesday and therefore great efforts had been made to ensure that all was pristine. However, it was clear that the committee and the working party put a lot of time into ensuring that the residents and the businesses have a village of which they can be really proud.
We enjoyed our tour of the village and although we felt daunted by their total commitment to the campaign and the work they undertook, we came away feeling that the campaign would be worthwhile even if we never achieved the Silver and Gold awards that Wedmore have and may yet again win this year. We wish them luck.
