Bury In Bloom Keeps Bury Blooming Lovely

Bury in Bloom's volunteers work hard to keep Bury St Edmunds looking blooming lovely all year round and the many floral and unique roundabout sculptures you see in the town are projects that have been carried out by Bury in Bloom.

Then there are the wonderful hundreds of hanging baskets and planters throughout the town centre provided which flood Bury St Edmunds with colour each year.

It's a huge team effort keeping the town looking blooming lovely for the community and visitors alike lead by the Bury Society’s Bury in Bloom volunteer team, West Suffolk Council park staff, the Friends of Abbey Gardens and many more. Their main sponsors are Greene King, West Suffolk council and Our Bury St Edmunds BID.

There are 450 hanging baskets up and 50 planters on display in Bury St Edmunds town centre every year providing a brilliant colourful welcome for visitors and residents alike.

The baskets, supplied by Woolpit Nurseries, are put up by the team at West Suffolk Council.

They provide projects for all ages and for all areas of the borough to ensure that the needs and aspirations of the community can be met, bringing people together to enhance, be inspired and enjoy what Bury St Edmunds has to offer its residents and visitors.

Throughout the town, residents put up their own floral displays each year and Bury In Bloom’s team of 100 volunteer judges inspect all areas of the town in July to award Certificates of Merit. Every year in July judges from Bury in Bloom go out around Bury's streets to judge Bury's Front Gardens with winners given an award.

Every year Bury in Bloom, which was founded in 1986, enters Anglia in Bloom. Nominations for the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom (Britain's nationwide gardening competition) are selected from Anglia in Bloom's category winners who, in the opinion of the Anglia in Bloom Trustees, are able to sustain their award-winning standard into the following year, when the Britain in Bloom judging takes place. Each category winner for Britain in Bloom is then put forward to be considered for the title of the overall RHS Britain in Bloom Champion. The results and winners are then announced in the autumn.

Bury in Bloom’s awards and plaudits since the 80s are too many to list, with numerous Gold Awards from the RHS Britain in Bloom and Anglia in Bloom!

Bury in Bloom’s new project for 2022, Bury in Plume, has been another exciting brainchild of our Crafty Foxes, owned by Michelle Freeman.

This community led art installation features a giant ‘Peacock in the Park’ which is on vibrant display in the Abbey Gardens and is made up of 1000 feathers which have been made by local community groups including pre-schools, playgroups and care homes using recycled items such as crisp packets, sweet wrappers and milk cartons.

Historically, peacocks were known to have roamed freely in the Abbey Gardens and the Bury in Plume sculpture has been a part of the Abbey 1000 celebrations.

The Britannia House Project has played a key role in this year’s entry to the Anglia in Bloom and Britain in Bloom competitions. Following their collaboration with Bury in Bloom, they were successfully awarded a grant by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to transform their small outside space into a wildlife haven.
Britannia House in Bury St Edmunds provides emergency ‘move-on’ accommodation for men and women taking back control of their lives as they regain their confidence and wellbeing after physical or mental abuse.

The ongoing project has taken shape throughout 2022 and with the dedication of the Britannia House staff and the backing of Bury in Bloom, the garden is now an area of peace and serenity for the residents to enjoy and is attracting new wildlife.
Bury in Bloom’s plans to install a series of Rainwater Harvesting tanks in the town to supply 50,000lt of rainwater to all its hanging baskets came to fruition in 2022 with the unveiling of its first tank on the Greene King site; plans are being worked on for a second tank at Greene King and an additional tank at Abbeygate Cinema in the town’s historic centre.

Bury in Bloom are finalists in the 2022 RHS Britain in Bloom competition which takes place in August 2022 along with the annual Anglia in Bloom competition; with accolades which include ten times Anglia in Bloom Gold Award, the future is floral bright for Bury St Edmunds.

Bury in Bloom won a 'Gold Award' at the RHS Britain in Bloom 2022 Finals in the BID Town Centre City Centre category!

It follows their win in September 2022 in the Anglia in Bloom Competition when Bury St Edmunds won the Large Town, Gold Award and Trophy.

There were also Gold Certificates and trophies for Peacock in the Park (Community Project Award), Bury Water Meadow Group (Wildlife & Conservation Award), West Suffolk Crematorium (Cemeteries & Crematoria Award). The Abbey Gardens, Nowton Park, and Glastonbury Court Care home also picked up Silver and Silver Gilt Awards.

Find out more about the work of Bury in Bloom on their website at www.buryinbloom.org.uk