Heywood in Bloom

Dear Volunteers and Partners, Friday was judging day for our It's Your Neighbourhood entries in this year's North West in Bloom competition. Our Vice Chair, Chris England, our Treasurer, Isla Witherington, and I had the pleasure of accompanying our judge, John Shepley, as we visited seven of our partner sites: Heywood in Bloom Community Allotment McCulloch & Gleave Funeral Directors Trinity Church Community Garden Heady Hill Community Garden Corcoran Close Community Garden He

On 24 July, Heywood in Bloom welcomed North West in Bloom judge John Shepley for this year's It's Your Neighbourhood (IYN) judging day. Chairman Iain Donaldson, Vice Chair Chris England and Treasurer Isla Witherington accompanied the judge as he visited seven inspiring community projects from across the town: Heywood in Bloom Community Allotment McCulloch & Gleave Funeral Directors Trinity Church Community Garden Heady Hill Community Garden Corcoran Close Community Garden Hey

Tomorrow, is our 2nd North West in Bloom judging day. The judges will be meeting our It’s Your Neighbourhood entrants and we are very pleased to have 4 new entries this year. All 4 of them have worked incredibly hard to turn neglected outdoor spaces into welcoming, colourful and peaceful gardens. Our first entry tomorrow is the Heywood in Bloom Community Allotment. We will then move on to visit: McCullough & Gleave (new entrant) Trinity Church Community Garden (new entrant)

We were very pleased to welcome the students from Heywood Academy to the allotment, their questions certainly kept us on our toes . We look forward to seeing them again after their summer break.

One of our new partners Corcoran Close, held a volunteer day during which the residents worked alongside community volunteers to show us all how it’s done by getting our community to pull together to achieve another step in transforming the area they live in. Well done Corcoran Close we are looking forward to bringing the judge to see all that you have achieved next week.

Some of our team were around the town today removing the dead flowers to make way for new ones and keep our planters looking bright and vibrant. Our theme this year was a riot of colour and I think we have got that. We also had some of our first crops from the allotment with lots more to come.

On 25 June, Heywood in Bloom welcomed the judges from North West in Bloom for the main judging day of this year's competition. The judges spent the day touring some of the town's most important green spaces and environmental projects, visiting our entries in the Large Town, Town Centre, Large Park and Business Park categories. The tour included visits to: Queen's Park Hopwood Park Heywood Distribution Park Heywood Town Centre The Picture Frame Junction 19 The day showcased th

A massive thank you to all our volunteers, partners and sponsors for the work you have done in helping us to prepare for the judging of Heywood In Bloom this year. The final touches are now being added ready for the judges visiting on Thursday, and the latest addition has been the addition of the insignia and logo to finish the improvements to the Cptn Bill Boat. A big thankyou to Isla and to to our sponsors at Fleet Grafix Ltd in Heywood for both this and also for the insi

A massive thank you to our sponsors Bamford Print Ltd of Heywood for printing our judges' portfolio again this year for NW In Bloom judging day on Thursday 25th June. Here is a preview of the document for anyone and everyone to see, it gives you an idea of who is engaged in Heywood in Bloom, and what is being done across Heywood. If you have a project that you feel fits in with our aims and values, then why not consider entering NW In Bloom as a community group, a school of

After another busy week, we're pleased to report that the planted-up liners are now out in the saddle-back planters and preparations for both Heywood 1940s Day and the North West In Bloom judging are progressing really well. A huge thank you to everyone who has been helping across the town. Volunteers have been working hard at the allotment, in the town centre, at parks, community gardens, churches and residential settings, helping to ensure Heywood is looking its very best.

It’s been a very busy week for the HIB volunteers. Monday the large greenhouse at the allotment was planted with tomatoes, cucumber, melon, courgette, aubergine and basil. Tuesday was at the allotment again when we planted runner and French beans, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels, started forming a path across the bottom of the banking and did lots of weeding. Wednesday the blue grass (sea) and daisies (sea spray) were planted around the boat. Thursday the bed around the pi

When we started work on the Cptn Bill Boat this year we had a lot of discussions about how fantastic if would be if we could create the impression of it being in water, with foam both behind it and in front. The council gardener kindly cut an edge out around the base of the boat into which we have planted blue-grass and daisies to give exactly that effect. With the weeds cleared, the new planting complete, and the paint applied, the boat is looking better than ever, and when

We had a great day yesterday at Possibilities Summer of Love Festival. So many people visited our stall for a chat and to buy veg and flower plants. All of the plants sold have been grown at our community allotment. We raised £95 which will be used towards buying plants for our town centre sites. We have some more volunteer sessions organised for this week please let us know if you would like to be involved.

We are starting to get our town centre planting ready for summer. During their session last Wednesday the Ed for All students went into the local community, where they worked together to collect planters from Heywood Library and St Luke’s Church, bringing them back to the allotment ready to be repotted and transformed into beautiful new flower displays to brighten up the town. Projects like this are such a powerful example of Preparation for Adulthood in action, developing te

We had a very exciting development this week. We have linked with Ed for All and some of their post 16 students had their first session at the allotment. We are looking forward to them being a valuable part of our team. This is a fantastic opportunity to involve young people in community work. Ed for All Post 16 is an alternative provision supporting young people aged 16 to 25, many of whom are from local boroughs, to access a bespoke Preparation for Adulthood curriculum tail

We have taken on a new initiative this year and are supporting Trinity Church in turning their garden area into a welcoming spot full of flowers. They have already built some raised beds and today we had a fantastic group of volunteers from Wincanton who despite the rain dug some small beds and planted fruit trees and also dug out a long bed which will be filled with flowers over time. The day was filled with laughter and friendship, a great demonstration of what can be achi

We are now stepping into our busiest time of year so we’re very pleased today to welcome Jo our newest volunteer to our team. Jo got stuck in with us this morning giving the boat a second coat of its new red paint. We also got the worst of the weeds out and started preparing the ground around it ready for the blue grass to go in. We rounded the morning off with some delicious cake baked for us by Isla. Our friends from Linkability continue to do great work every Thursday at t

We have lots of new and exciting projects within Heywood in Bloom this year. 1. We have decided to give Captain Bills boat in the town centre a revamp. Work started last night and she has gone from green to bright red. Further work will be done on Saturday so if you see us please stop for a chat or toot your horn as you are passing. 2. We are working with Trinity Church to build on the work they have already started to develop a community garden. We will be there next Wednesd

Our team of volunteers had a fantastic time at Heady Hill Community Centre on Saturday 18th April 10 am - 2pm. They were able to sell various plants for sale including polyanthus, pansies, strawberries, hanging baskets grown on the allotment, together with seed starter kits assembled by our volunteers. All the money raised will go towards the work of Heywood in Bloom in our community.

One of the things that Heywood In Bloom is keen to do is encourage sustainable planting. We are also keen to fund as much of our planting as we can through growing and selling plants and produce at table top sales. A big thank you to our friends from Linkability who ran a very successful stall at the Heywood Baptist Church's Easter Fair. The total raised was £115 and they kindly donated it all to Heywood in Bloom. All the plants sold had been grown at our allotment.