Guildford In Bloom’s Picture Perfect Winners Announced

Published on: 20 Aug, 2020
Updated on: 20 Aug, 2020

The Guildford in Bloom winners for 2020 have been announced, a year in which the competition judges could not visit the entries’ gardens due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Instead, entrants submitted photos of their gardens. A total of 138 entries were received with 600 photographs being submitted across the five categories by the closing date of Sunday, July 19. A shortlist of the top 10 entries was then put to a people’s vote.

Photo by Karen Robinson, the overall winner of Guildford in Bloom 2020. Click on images to enlarge in a new window.

Run by Guildford Borough Council, this was 39th year of the competition and the overall winner is Karen Robinson, for her night-time photograph of her patio plants, with 65 votes.

She receives a £60 RHS Wisley gift voucher, with other category winners receiving an engraved slate to hang in their gardens.

Julie Shaw’s wildlife garden.

Category winners are: Garden Colour: Karen Robinson. Wildlife: Julie Shaw. Vegetables: The Clink (garden at HMP Send). Wonky Veg: Linda Stewart. Blooming Kids: Isabel and Daniel.

Isabel and Deniel’s winners in the section for young growers.

Sister and brother duo, Isabel and Daniel, who both attend Wonersh and Shamley Green Primary School, turned an unused section of their garden into a superb garden oasis growing all sorts of vegetables and flowers during lockdown. They will receive a family ticket to RHS Wisley.

Vegetables grown at The Clink garden, HMP Send. Prisoners work to gain experience and achieve City & Guilds NVQ Level 2 in horticulture. The salad, fruit, vegetables, herbs and eggs produced from the gardens (the other at HMP High Down) are delivered daily to The Clink’s restaurants at HMPs Bristol, High Down, Cardiff, Styal and Manchester.

The chairman of Guildford In Bloom, Cllr Paul Spooner, said: “Well done and thank you to everyone who entered the competition for brightening up Guildford during this difficult time.

“More and more people have discovered the enjoyment and benefits of gardening during lockdown, and I’m so pleased that we found a way to continue with this incredibly popular and much-loved community competition this year.”

Story based on a press release from Guildford Borough Council, edited with additional information added.