The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s annual gardening competition caught my eye and I read on with great interest. It is open to resident amateur gardeners in the Borough and I looked at the clips of those selected last year and there were some impressive entries.
They state, ‘You don't need to have a garden to enter - there’s a
category for hanging baskets, window boxes or pots - you just need to be
passionate about planting!’ This year they have included an exciting new
category, ‘Which is just for our young gardeners out there! The children’s
category is to showcase the talents of our younger residents and there’s even a
£15 voucher for the winner! Every child that enters will also get a packet of
seeds.’
I read on past the prizes to the categories: Front garden, Back garden, Containers
(Hanging baskets, window boxes or pots), Communal garden (Please ensure that if
you’re gardening in a communal space that you are observing the two metre
distancing guidelines), and finally Children’s (Entrants must be under 18).
Where were the allotments?
Last year our small allotment plot within the new Crossrail Rooftop
gardens at Canary Wharf was part of the garden which won an award in ‘Britain
in Bloom’. The judges took a great interest in the allotment and one even made
a special visit to our site.
Greenwich is not alone in holding an annual ‘In Bloom ‘competition and
many boroughs in London and councils up and down the country hold them. The startling
thing is that they all have similar but often quite different categories. Some may
perhaps suggest that this reflects the Parks and council’s views on gardens,
gardening and gardeners.
I discovered our own Borough of Tower Hamlets has a ‘In Bloom’ annual
competition which includes allotments. There are only x sites in the Borough so
its somewhat surprising that we knew nothing about it and it’s been going for several
years. So, it is not just about having a competition but promoting it into the
community.
Some local authorities include school gardens which obviously recognises
the importance of introducing and educating children into horticulture. Some
include ‘wildlife friendly’ and encourage biodiversity and environmental
concerns and awareness. Some breakdown the categories recognising the size of
garden, commercial gardens, community, and Care Home gardens. I liked Wigan’s ‘Best
Edible Garden/Allotment’ and Guildford's ‘Wonky Veg’ but I was left stumped by
Islington’s ‘Tree Pit’ category. The most comprehensive was Reading which broke
down allotments to the; most eco-friendly, attractive and best maintained.
You would expect some conformity across neighbouring Boroughs and the
country but it would appear not. Is it sheer density of colour, variety of
plants and visual impact that dominates the judging or the educational
outreach, social integration, and environmental and bio-diverse impact that wins
the day? Maybe Parks departments are not
the best judges today and gardening has far wider implications in our changing
environment. Like the old ‘best in show’ vegetable competitions perhaps its
time to evolve the competitions onto today’s and tomorrow’s agenda.
Greenwich Borough has some 18 allotment sites, 15 under direct Borough management
the rest self-managed and a total of 810 plots. So why are these excluded? Every
Borough bar one in London has allotments and there are some 40,000 plots in
some 750 sites. Not only do they bloom but they make and enormous contribution
to the Borough’s conservation of nature, biodiversity, environment, health and well-being
and education. Across the country there are some 300,000 plots reflecting every
diverse background and culture and many are excluded from ‘in bloom’
competitions, why?
Some 70 years ago the Royal Borough of Greenwich had allotments right
across the Royal Park behind the Naval college during the war. The Greenwich skyline
like many Boroughs in London and along the river is seeing significant development
of sky scrapers and flats. This reduces the opportunity for many to engage in
gardening.
The competition is to be judged by Cabinet Member for Culture and
Communities, Adel Khaireh, the Mayor Linda Bird and the Deputy Mayor
Denise Hyland. Some would suggest that at a time when we are trying
to join the dots across local government departments on allotment benefits,
they are excluded by the very top of local government in Greenwich. The fact
that a Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities is also a judge is heart-breaking
and again shows that the recognition of allotments may be lacking by the very
Department that is there to protect them.
Perhaps its time to recognise that a plant’s bloom is not the start nor
the end of the cycle but merely one stage within it. Gardeners of all ages, backgrounds and skills should
be encouraged, stimulated and helped to cultivate and educated on how to do it
in a eco-friendly way. Joining the dots and redefining the awards to be
inclusive of all and to reflect today’s world would be a great start.
