Guildford in Bloom

Guildford in Bloom brings together community groups, businesses, schools and residents to promote imaginative ways to make the town and surrounding areas look their best and champion Guildford's natural environment.

The deadline to enter the 2017 Guildford in Bloom Competition has now passed. The judges will be looking at entries for the following categories:

Categories

Category	What the judges are looking for
Best Front Garden	Your garden must be visible to the public from the footpath. It will be judged on design, colour, quality of plants and all-year-round interest. Gardens will be divided into a small or large category.
Best Allotment and Vegetable/Kitchen Gardens	Judged on the variety and quality of vegetables grown, evidence of good horticultural practice, use of space and sustainable management. All allotment plots entered must have the plot number clearly on display.
Best Garden for Wildlife	Open to all gardens including private, businesses and community projects where the design, choice of plants and management is especially welcoming to wildlife.
Best Pub in Bloom	We are looking for the best Pub in Bloom. A well-balanced design, good use of colour and quality planting will score high marks.
Best Container Garden	Open to balconies and gardens that are based on pots and baskets. Must be visible to the public.
Best Neighbourhood Project	This category recognises projects that green up the local area and include those organised by sheltered accommodation, village halls, residents associations, parish councils, voluntary groups and charities etc. Judges will be looking for good design, colour and plant quality as well as input from residents or the community.
Best School in Bloom	This year our theme is 'The Seaside'. We are looking for imaginatively themed gardens or novel containers. Children's involvement with the design, planting and upkeep and meeting the theme of the competition will score high marks. Note: dates for the school competition are different to the main competition - see below for details.
Best Public Building in Bloom	Your garden must be open to the public to visit or walk through. Judges will be looking for a good overall impression, with good design, colour and plant quality.
The Dorothy Walden Award	This will be awarded to the best 'first time' entry into any category.

Judging

Judging will take place between 3 to 21 July. It is not possible to advise individual entrants of the exact day and time of judging (with the exception of vegetable/kitchen gardens, wildlife gardens and neighbourhood project categories).

Winners will be notified by email and invited to the awards ceremony that takes place on 14 September 2017 at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

Terms and conditions

Judges will not be available to discuss individual entries

The judges' decision is final.

A list of winners will be published on our website. Photographs of your entry (garden, allotment) may be used for marketing purposes.

School Gardening Competition 2017

The closing date for entries to the 2017 School Gardening Competition has now passed.

The theme of this year's competition is 'The seaside' and the judging of gardens and containers will be taking place from 5 to 16 June.

The Award Ceremony will be held on Wednesday 21 June 2017.

Photography Competition

To celebrate its sponsorship of Guildford in Bloom 2017, White Lion Walk shopping centre this year teamed up with the Surrey Advertiser newspaper to run a Photography Competition. The closing date for the competition was 28 May.

Six finalists will be selected by a judging panel, then the public will be asked to vote for the shortlisted winners via the Surrey Advertiser newspaper.

All of the photographs will be displayed in White Lion Walk shopping centre in a mini exhibition during June.

Terms and conditions

Entrants must be aged 14 years and over.
All photographs submitted must be owner's own work.
The centre management team reserves the right to dismiss any entry deemed to breech copyright or rules on entry.
The winners of the competition will have been notified on Monday 26 June 2017. Please note that the winners will need to be available for the week commencing 26 June 2017 to be presented with their prizes.
No purchase necessary.
Prizes are non-exchangeable or negotiable.
Employees of Surrey & Berkshire Media, and any agencies connected with the competition and their families are not eligible to vote.
The public vote is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Neither Surrey & Berkshire Media, nor any connected agencies, accept liability for entries that have been lost or stolen.
Entries received after the closing date will not be included in the competition or exhibition.

Diary dates 2017

Date	Event
26 May 2017	Entry deadline for the School Gardening Competition
28 May 2017	Entry deadline for Photography Competition
29 May 2017	Surrey County Show
3 June 2017	Picnic in the Castle Grounds - A fabulous, free, family event with the unveiling of the flower beds and music and theatre entertainment from the bandstand
18 June 2017	Entry closes for Guildford in Bloom competition
21 June 2017	School Gardening Competition Awards
3 to 21 July 2017	Judging for Guildford in Bloom competition
14 September 2017	Awards ceremony for Guildford in Bloom

Become a Guildford in Bloom Committee Member

We are seeking new Committee Members. For more information, please email Lysandra on Lysandra.mcculloch@guildford.gov.uk or telephone 01483 444715.

Sponsors for Guildford in Bloom

If you would like to become a Guildford in Bloom Sponsor, please download a copy of our sponsors' application form from the Downloads on the right of this page.

Guildford in Bloom gives you an excellent opportunity to promote your business while helping us keep the borough blooming.

You can sponsor a category, or become the major sponsor for the event.

Winners of the 2016 competition

This year 160 entrants took part in 10 categories, from small container gardens to allotments, neighbourhood projects to innovation in horticulture and wildlife gardens to pubs in bloom.

The awards ceremony took place at Burchatt's Farm Barn at Stoke Park with over 250 attendees, including local school children. The night was a great celebration of gardening in Guildford.

In total 158 prizes were awarded; 40 gardeners picked up the top Gold award. Best in Show was Brian Elford for his entry in the Best Allotment category.

The 'Best in Category' award winners were:

Best Wildlife Garden - Julia and Roy Wake
Best Container Garden - Jack Thornber
Best Small Front Garden - Lisa Keech
Best Large Front Garden - David Jobson
Best Pub in Bloom - Gomshall Mill
Best Neighbourhood Project - The Therapy Garden
Best Allotment - Brian Elford
Best School in Bloom - Shalford Pre-School
The Mayors Award for Innovation in Horticulture - Sam Cox
The Dorothy Walden Themed Award - HMP Send

Take a look at our video (see below) showing the winners collecting their awards and photographs of their entries. Also, take a look at the list of our Guildford in Bloom 2016 winners.

Blooming Schools Winners - 2016 Novel Container Competition

Shalford Pre-School is the overall winner of the 2016 Guildford in Bloom Novel Containers Competition, with their entry theme based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The school was presented with a trophy, a gold award certificate and £20 worth of National Gardening Vouchers. Visit our Guildford in Bloom Facebook page to view a video of the winning schools and their entries.

Young Awards Winners 2016 The mayor of Guildford Presents an Award 2016 Guildford in Bloom award Winning Pupils

Table of Blooming Schools winners 2016:

School	Award
Lanesborough Pre-Prep School	Gold
Worplesdon Pre-Prep	Gold
Guildford Children's Centre (Hazel Avenue)	Silver-Gilt
Shalford Pre-School	Gold
Jigsaw School	Gold
Weyfield Primary Academy School	Gold
Guildford Montessori Nursery School	Silver-Gilt
Guildford Children's Centre (York Road)	Gold