PROUD of your garden? Well, you may have the chance to show it off and even win an award for it if a new competition goes ahead.
Wellington Town Council are seeking to launch a community competition where the town’s best gardens are judged in bloom.
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In 1960, the British Tourist Board launched the ‘Britain in Bloom’ campaign to encourage the nation to brighten up its gardens with manicured lawns, summer bedding plants, and hanging baskets.
As per competition rules, south west villages, towns, and cities compete against similarly sized settlements. The winners of each region were then pitted against each other at the main Britain in Bloom awards.
Later in the 1980s, the campaign was taken over by Keep Britain Tidy, who have continued to host the competition to the present. Wellington In Bloom was a group that competed in this competition and had a dedicated group of volunteers, in partnership with the then Taunton Deane Borough Council, behind its organisation.
The group saw huge success in the 90s and 00s, winning numerous silver and gold awards in the Portman Cup for many years running, even being the champions of the South West in 2005.
Participation slowed down and even ceased for a time in the 2010s due to the knock-on effects of the recession and the pressure on remaining members.
In 2018 they invited Transition Town Wellington, by then a well-established group in the town, to take over some of the projects that the in bloom team were less able to do as they got older. In 2020, the group could no longer continue due to covid and took the tough decision to close down.
Fast forward to 2026, and Wellington Town Council officially took over the ownership and management of open spaces within the town, bringing them into local ownership for the first time in over 50 years, prompting a resurgence in Wellington In Bloom.
A spokesperson for Wellington Town Council said: “Who remembers when Wellington in Bloom ran competitions to see who had the best garden in town? We certainly do.
“We are looking to gauge the community’s interest in re-launching the Wellington in Bloom garden competition as a Town Council initiative.
“The original competition stopped running in the early 2010s but was a huge success (and huge fun) in the 90s and 00s.
“We would invite people that live within the Wellington boundary to enter their front or back garden into a competition against others in the town.
“There would be awards in different categories (e.g. environmental, floral, water garden) and judging will be undertaken by Wellington Town Council’s Open Spaces Manager and at least two Councillors.”
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