First finals for village vying for In-Bloom glory
THIS year sees Hillsborough selected for the first time to take part in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom UK Finals.
The village was one of 73 competition finalists chosen from more than 1,000 entries.
One of six Ulster contenders, Hillsborough is competing in the Large Village category against Hutton Cranswick, Warkworth, Market Bosworth, Melrose and Tatsfield.
Scarva is flying the flag for Northern Ireland in the Small Village category, Ahoghill in the Small Town category; Coleraine competes for the Large Town title, Bangor for ‘Coastal Over 12k’ and Broughshane contests Champion of Champions.
Each finalist is aiming for a gold medal and the coveted title of category winner.
RHS Director General Sue Biggs wished Hillsborough luck. “RHS Britain in Bloom would be nothing,” she said, “without the enormous number of volunteers who are committed to greening up their corner of the nation – dynamic people, all wanting to make the UK a better place to live.
“Together they plant more than 115,000 trees, 352,000 shrubs and 21.6 million plants and bulbs annually; the positive impact this has on the environment is enormous.
“It is an absolute honour for the RHS to be associated with these groups and individuals and I wish Hillsborough the very best of luck.”
Started in 1964 by the British Tourist Authority as a way of marketing the nation through floral displays, today RHS Britain in Bloom is the nation’s largest environmental campaign, involving more than 200,000 volunteers and bringing communities together to enhance the look, feel and pride of a place through gardening and environmental projects.
Although the campaign runs year round, during the run-up to the judging tour communities throughout the UK unite in an effort to impress the RHS judges.
The judging panel will tour in July, awarding points against three key criteria - horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility.
The 2012 RHS Britain in Bloom results will be announced in October at a special Awards Ceremony in St Peter Port, Guernsey.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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