Vicki Pite from Enfield in Bloom reflects on another great year for the borough’s growers and gardeners

St Mark's Day Service (best display in a public area, gold winner) — St Mark’s Day Service (best display in a public area, gold winner)

Enfield is deservedly known for its green spaces, its nurseries and garden centres at Crews Hill, and is admired for the ‘friends’ who dedicate hours to maintaining our beautiful parks.

Less celebrated are the Enfield gardeners and horticulturists who improve our environment with their vibrant garden displays and by providing the urban habitats important for pollinators, bugs, worms and pond life.

Enfield in Bloom, now in its 44th year, is a well-established community organisation that applauds the contribution of gardeners and horticulturists to our quality of life and the environment through its annual gardening competition, the Enfield in Bloom Awards. It’s also one of a handful of ‘Town in Bloom’ groups in London, so it’s an important part of Enfield and London’s heritage.

It’s a testament to the commitment of our volunteers and many loyal sponsors that, despite setbacks like Covid-19, cuts to local authority financial support and the challenges of extreme weather, competition entries continue to rise every year – and their quality is undiminished.

There are many competition categories, sponsored by local businesses or community groups who are committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment. The variety allows everyone to enter, and includes front gardens, residential streets, communal gardens, wildlife gardens and meadows, small gardens, window boxes and balconies, allotments, and innovative growing spaces. Truly something for everyone!

Victoria Goodson and Piper Khan's entry (best wildlife garden, gold winner) — Victoria Goodson and Piper Khan’s entry (best wildlife garden, gold winner)

Judging is done by our team of judges, who are volunteers and travel the length and breadth of Enfield in June, personally visiting each entry: hard work, but inspirational.

Arguably the most uplifting category is ‘school grounds with an environmental aspect’. This year there were five entries, all of which gained gold awards. Reading the judges’ comments and seeing the photographs, it’s not difficult to see why. Whether the schools are in heavily urbanised or rural areas, they enhance children’s learning by giving them responsibility for creating their own gardens and wildlife habitats, for planting and seed collection.

The schools enrich their curriculum by providing the hands-on experience that inspires a love of nature, respect for the environment and an understanding of sustainability. The children and young people grow food for their own kitchens, organise plant sales and make compost; a lesson for us all.

Hats off, therefore, to the dedicated teaching and non-teaching staff at Tottenhall Infants’ School, Grange Park Primary School, Brettenham Primary School, Prince of Wales Primary School, and Oaktree School.

Tottenhall Infants School (best school grounds, gold winner)

Enfield in Bloom supports schools and friends of parks groups with small grants to help them sustain our precious environments. The Enfield in Bloom competition is free, and each entry is judged on its own merit, so there are over 100 awards given out. All amateur gardeners are welcome to participate and the winners are invited to our awards ceremony held every October.

At present we are looking for volunteers for the Enfield in Bloom committee, especially if you have some computer skills to help with all the administration involved.

To see all of the 2023 Enfield In Bloom winners:
Visit enfieldinbloom.org.uk/competition-results

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.