Bury in Bloom judges celebrate as almost 1,500 gardens across town net awards

From an article by Cameron Reid – cameron.reid@iliffepublishing.co.uk

Published: 15 August 2023

A Suffolk town’s popular floral contest with 125 judges saw almost 1,500 gardens net awards.

Bury in Bloom held the reception for the judges at the Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds, to give their thanks to all those who persevered to award the much-prized certificates for people’s front gardens.

This year’s competition saw 125 judges take part, 25 more than last year, and identify the best gardens with almost 1,500 certificates of merit handed out to householders.

The judges attended a celebratory reception in recognition of their work. Picture: Cameron ReidThe judges attended a celebratory reception in recognition of their work. Picture: Cameron Reid

A total of 1,492 certificates of merit were handed out this year, 52 highly commended certificates and 55 certificates to commercial properties.

This year, a different map was used as new parts of Bury St Edmunds were covered, including parts of Moreton Hall, which meant over 20,000 properties were covered and split into 11 zones.

Lynne Wright, certificates coordinator, was delighted with how the competition went and enjoys the community aspect of the event.

Supporters of Bury in Bloom were in high spirits at the reception including Robin Burnett (back left) and Lynne Wright (far right)

She said: “I think the judges have done a fantastic job and you can feel the buzz here and getting everyone together for something like this is brilliant.

“Parts of Bury are very loved and what we tend to find is if there is one garden in an area that’s been done up and looks lovely, this can spread and turn into a cluster. It is like a catalyst for change.

“So it’s actually very important and the public can get very excited for this which is great and I think it’s a real positive for Bury St Edmunds.”