Britain in Bloom

Chris Bavin meets the Pateley Bridge Bloomers, who are entering the competition to save their high street and win gold by giving their entry some razzamatazz.

Chris Bavin meets the Clovelly Bloomers, who are determined to win gold despite having to garden in the extremely steep landscape of this ancient Devonshire fishing village.

Chris Bavin meets the residents and shop owners of Soho Road, a busy route into Birmingham, who are entering into the Business Improvement category for the first time.

Chris Bavin meets the Southport Bloomers in Merseyside, who are competition veterans and look after many of the green spaces in their seaside town due to council budget cuts.

Chris Bavin heads to Petworth in West Sussex to meet a group of residents entering Bloom for the first time, who are hoping to get a disconnected community working together.

Chris Bavin travels to Wisbech, ‘Capital of the Fens', to meet the Bloomers who are planning to include the migrant community in their efforts to win a gold award this year.

Chris Bavin meets the volunteers from Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales, who are determined to keep their town on the tourist trail by entering Bloom for the very first time.

Chris Bavin travels to the Borough of Halton in Cheshire to meet three determined Bloomers who vowed to create two community gardens after they met during cancer treatment.

Chris Bavin meets the ambitious Bloomers of Lichfield in Staffordshire, who are looking for their second gold award by presenting the judges with ambitious heritage projects.

Chris Bavin meets the Bloomers from Prestatyn in Wales, who are determined to keep their coastal town on the tourist map and win gold again after five years of missing out.

Chris Bavin is in the market town of Amersham in Buckinghamshire to meet a group of Bloomers who are determined to win gold for the fifth year in a row and unite Amersham. With only seven weeks until judging day, they have come up with an ambitious plan to impress the judges, but they will need help from an army of volunteers. Firstly, they are creating a brand new centenary garden at the entrance to Top Amersham. Next, they have organised a competition amongst 400 school children to design and plant four new raised beds in both parts of the town. Finally, in Old Amersham’s most important location – its stunning Memorial Gardens - the Bloomers are creating not one but three show-stopping displays to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One. But a record-breaking heatwave threatens to scupper their chances of winning another gold award.

Chris Bavin meets the Bloomers from Todmorden in West Yorkshire, who have been competing in Bloom for 19 years but have never managed to win two gold awards in a row. They rely on Bloom to keep visitors coming to their town, so this year they have devised an ambitious plan designed to attract more people and win that elusive second gold award. Firstly, they engage the whole community and fill the town centre with stunning flower displays. Next, they transform a concrete bank at a busy railway station into a floral memorial designed to honour local heroes and commemorate the centenary of World War One. Finally, they create a stunning heritage stumpery and fernery in the local park to wow the judges. However, with one of the hottest and driest summers ever recorded, they are struggling to complete their projects and keep their blooms alive.

Chris Bavin travels to Llandudno, named by Victorians as ‘The Queen of the Welsh Resorts’, to meet the experienced Bloom team determined to keep their seaside town thriving and win another gold award this year. Firstly, Haulfre Gardens, a terraced park on the hill overlooking the town, will be transformed into a stunning community vineyard. However, the delicate vines will need protection from not only coastal storms but the local marauding goats that are particularly partial to tender new plants. Secondly, the award-winning primary school introduces innovative schemes to teach their pupils about the environment. The school’s Eco Club will be keeping bees, reptiles and chickens and planting up the school grounds to encourage the bees along with selling honey and eggs to raise money. Finally, volunteers have taken over from the council to keep the flowers looking beautiful and create two brand new herbaceous beds at the local park after austerity cuts hit the community. These projects are the most ambitious they have ever undertaken but the Bloomers feel the pride of the town is at stake, so the pressure is on to win gold again.

Chris Bavin travels to Evington to meet the Leicestershire Bloomers who are determined to use gardening to combat social isolation and win their first gold award. Firstly, a group of elderly volunteers who look after Burnaby Gardens revive an overgrown area of this historic park with a brand new planting scheme. Next, the Gardening Club transforms an abandoned strip of land at the local primary school into a bee-friendly wildlife area. Finally, the volunteers undertake an ambitious food growing project – by turning an empty polytunnel into an innovative aquaponic farm, using fish to fertilise plants that aren’t grown in soil. The scale of all their ambition means the Bloomers have a huge amount to do before the judges come in eight weeks’ time.

Chris Bavin travels to the historic town of Marlborough in Wiltshire to meet a determined group of Bloomers who want to show residents and tourists that there is more to the town than their famous high street. They won gold last year, so are looking to retain that coveted award by highlighting the undiscovered corners of Marlborough. Firstly, the residents are working together to plant hundreds of blooms to transform one of the town’s ancient alleyways. Next, a community corner by the river is brightened up with colourful floral tubs for the ultimate relaxing riverside retreat. Finally, they will tackle a 15-acre nature reserve to improve the environment of the nearby river Kennet with the introduction of wild eels and hundreds of trees. There is a lot to do before judging day but will it be enough to win gold again?