Ross-in-Bloom gain silver gilt   13/09/2007

She travelled to Cheltenham Town Hall last Friday with Lyn Tomlinson and Mary Powell to a prestigious event to announce all the results in the campaign, which took place during very wet July.

“Due to the bad weather and the lack of volunteers for this year I would have been very happy to get a Silver award” she said. “However we were all delighted when a Silver Gilt was announced. We were in Cheltenham with representatives from the Neighbourhood Award entries at Ross Court and the Garden of Remembrance. We were also there representing the Town Council as they had entered Dean Hill Gardens and Tudorville Cemetery in the same campaign. Following a lovely lunch we sat and waited for the Britain in Bloom Neighbourhood Award results and were delighted when Ross Court received an Outstanding Achievement, the Garden of Remembrance and Dean Hill Park got Merits and the Cemetery an Improvement Award. Everyone in Ross involved with both campaigns has done exceedingly well this year. Congratulations to them all”.

Margaret would like to express her thanks on behalf of herself and the Ross-in-Bloom committee to all of those who helped to make judging day such a special one. Once again the extra marks have come from community involvement. If it had not been for the likes of those who took part in the market, or those who helped to make the town clean and tidy there would not have been such a high result.

“Herefordshire Council have once again been a tremendous help to us this year,” she added. “Without their help and support we would not be able to continue with entry into the campaign. Against common opinion we are not sitting back with our feet up until January next year. We have already thought of what we are going to do for 2008 and the colour scheme will be decided within the next few days. That and the projects for next year will be announced as soon as they are clarified”.

This year has been a particularly sad one in that the Heart of England Tourist Board are dissolving and it was thought that this was the last in Bloom campaign they would be supporting. However, a new committee has been put together for Heart of England in Bloom and next year the campaign will go ahead as usual – bigger and better. In Bloom goes a long way towards the success of tourism in our area and a lot of visitors are drawn in by good publicity from this type of event. Ross-in-Bloom will be continuing for the coming year to work towards increasing visitor numbers to boost the local economy. More volunteers are needed to help with specific work and there will shortly be the opportunity for people to come forward and offer that help, to work towards increasing the award to Gold for next year. The AGM will be held in November and will be publicised in the local press. If anyone feels they would like to offer services they can also go to see Margaret at Lucas Motorcycles and leave their contact details.

All entrants are given a book with the judge’s comments on what they were impressed with. The comments for Ross were as follows:

“The visit to Ross-on-Wye commenced in rain which quickly changed to sunshine. The in Bloom committee gave a warm welcome at Ross Court. A tour of the town followed which included visits to industrial estates, sheltered housing, the Heritage Centre, parks, the Churchyard and riverside areas. The town looked very clean and tidy with good displays of flowers, shrubs and trees. The team provided a very enjoyable tour of the town with many unique features being viewed”.

The judges were particularly impressed with:
 Hanging baskets at the Heritage Centre
 Goodrich Court and Nursery Road
 Bedding displays in Crossfields
 Displays at Ross Court
 Tree collections at Dean Hill Park and in the Churchyard
 Merton House planting
 Traffic islands on the bypass and in town
 Riverside park planting and management scheme
 Churchyard management scheme
 General cleanliness, very little litter and weeds
 Repair of damaged and vandalised street furniture by volunteers
 St Mary’s Garden of Remembrance which has transformed a neglected area of the churchyard
 The Historical Commercial Premises photographic project and campaign
 The list of sponsors and volunteers is extensive and shows how much the town supports Ross-in-Bloom

Lyn Tomlinson, Vice Chairman or Ross-in-Bloom deals with all aspects of PR and has been working very closely with Ross Court over the years. She is delighted that they received the Outstanding Achievement Award for their gardens, which is the equivalent of a Gold in the main judging criteria. “Having worked with the staff and residents of Ross Court I was highly delighted at their result” she said. “It is very well deserved. Everyone is involved there, all the residents being consulted regularly on what they would like to see in their gardens. Some of those who are more able to do so are recruited in to work wherever they can. Others give in their ideas for plans and planting requirements. All of them have the opportunity to enter their “plots” for the Ross-in-Bloom Competitions. One such resident was Mr Will Young who unfortunately died last week, before he was able to hear how much his hard work and enthusiasm had contributed to the Britain in Bloom Neighbourhood Award. His area of the garden was the potting shed and whenever we visited the gardens he could be seen tending to his plants or just sitting in the shade and admiring them. I do believe he could be seen talking to them too. He will be sadly missed and I was very pleased to have been able to give him his Ross-in-Bloom Silver Gilt Certificate at a party in August. The condolences of all in Ross-in-Bloom go to his family and friends”.