Here is a picture of our very stylish and festive tree as part of the Christmas tree festival - well done to Stephanie and Gillie!

These are pictures of the winning front garden in this year's awards competition. The garden is Broadview, Norwich Road.

And below is a picture of one of our highly commended front gardens, at 37 Norwich Road.

The Halesworth in Bloom awards ceremony for 2019 took place at the Cut on 29th October. The event proved popular, with many local gardeners and allotment holders in attendance, together with representatives from local businesses and our enthusiastic young gardeners club. The opening address was given by our patron, Michael Imison, who reminded us of the huge contribution Tamsyn Imison made to the town. Michael also presented the awards to all our worthy winners.
Cathy Smith of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust gave an informative talk encouraging us all to garden with wildlife in mind, showing that even the smallest space can be a huge benefit to wildlife if managed sensitively. 
This was followed by the presentation of the awards in the various categories:

Best Front Garden: 
26 Certificates of Excellence
9 Highly Commended Awards
Winners of the Lesley Pyke Award: John and Margaret Pearson of Broadview, Norwich Road

Best Allotment:
6 Recognition of Achievement Awards
4 Highly Commended Awards
Winner of the Lesley Pyke Award: Vic Coulson

Best Business Floral Frontage:
5 Highly Commended Awards
Winner of the Lesley Pyke Award: Co-operative Filling Station

Best Children's Project:
Winner of the Lesley Pyke Award: Children's Gardening Club

Best Newcomer:
​Winner of the Lesley Pyke Award: The White Swan PH

Our AGM will take place on Friday 15th November at 4pm in Halesworth Library (upstairs). All are welcome to join us - to let us know you are coming, send us an email to halesworthinbloom@mail.com, or add your name to the list held by the Library. We would love to see you there.

Amazingly the sun shone on us this morning! We planted a new tree (see picture), cercis canadensis, fabulous big, red, heart-shaped leaves - hurry, hurry before they all fall off..... in which case you'll have to wait until March for the pink blossom. Sue brought along a lovely Ceanothus that was outgrowing her garden and this evergreen blue flowering shrub now has a new home in the little border by the river. Sterling work was done by all distributing a huge builders bag of mushroom compost to add structure/moisture retention for next summer.

You are all invited to join us at our annual awards ceremony at The Cut on Tuesday 29th October, 6.30 for 7pm start. Our guest speaker this year is Cathy Smith from Suffolk Wildlife Trust, whose talk will focus on the benefits to wildlife that can be created in front gardens.
Commended and Highly Commended certificates will be presented for front gardens (as nominated by the people of Halesworth), for business floral frontages, and for allotments. Trophies will be presented by our Patron Michael Imison to the winners in each category as well as to the Best Children's Project, the Best Newcomer, and the Most Significant Contribution to Halesworth in Bloom. 
Please let us know if you would like to attend (for catering purposes) by email (halesworthinbloom@mail.com) or by leaving your name on the list in the Halesworth in Bloom folder in the Library (ask at the desk). We look forward to seeing you there.

Some of our young gardeners enjoying the fruits of their labour!

 
HIB  visit to RHS Hyde Hall, Chelmsford, Essex on Wednesday 28th August.
 
The coach will leave Halesworth at 9.00 am and return for 6.00 pm.
 
Entry to the garden is free as part of our RHS Affiliation but we will be hiring a 29 seater coach, costing £20.00 per person.
 
Places on a first come first served basis. Contact Karen Austin at karenaustin2@btinternet.com or by phone on 01986 875781. Please respond by Sunday 11th August.
 

We may have cancelled this month's working party due to the excessive heat, but the Memorial Garden at St Mary's Church is looking lovely and worth a stroll through, or why not take a seat and enjoy the view! Here are some lilies and thistles to tempt you.

Due to the exceptional weather, the regular last Friday of the month working party at the Memorial Garden has been cancelled. The next opportunity to join us for a spot of gardening will be 30th August. In the meantime if you notice any of our plants or trees in distress, please give them a drink of water to help them along.