Litter is a continuing convern for our residents and a growing expense for the Council. Unless we do something about it, the problem of litter will soon get out of control and become very costly to deal with. The Council is taking the lead on tackling litter by launching this ‘SHERBORNE STOP THE LITTER CAMPAIGN’ but we all need to start to take responsibility for our rubbish.

The Council wants to convey a sense of shared responsibility with the public in keeping Sherborne clean. To this end we are looking for support from the general public, traders and community groups to be part of an anti-litter campaign.

An open meeting has been called at the Digby Hall, Hound Street (next to the Library) on Wednesday 8 September from 2:00pm – 4:00pm. Come and learn more about this initiat and how you can help. Bring your volunteer spirit along.

For more information please contact Cllr Peter Rhodes 01935 812807 or Caroline Rowland on 01935 816961.

We hope this campaign will discourage people from dropping litter to keep Sherborne an attractive place for residents and visitors. Reducing litter will not only have a positive effect on the environment but it will also reduce the amount of taxpayers’ money we have to spend each year on dealing with it.

Little did we know what a mammoth task we had set ourselves! Organising the whole judging competition took weeks and would culminate in a whole week of judging visits. On some days there was more than one team of judges going out to judge — all day!

During the judging week our judges looked at more than 80 front and back gardens, 143 allotments, 90 homes in the Quarr Lane Park and 120 businesses, pubs and restaurants. Those who entered the competition told us how pleased they were to show the judges around.

Awards were presented to the winners at a presentation ceremony at the Butterfly House, Castle Gardens on judging day, Tuesday 13 July.

Jean Gillingham receives judging award from Mrs Wingfield-Digby with Mayor Jane Smith looking on

For a complete list of the prizewinners in Growing for a Gold, click here.

Caroline Rowland, organiser of Sherborne in Bloom, would like to thank the following people. We are indebted to Aurelie Ryser, our Douzelage student from Granville who designed the wonderful judges scoring sheets and so much more. We were so appreciative of the commitment and dedication of our judges and photographers, Betty Deavin, Brian Haigh and Keith Lane, who weathered so well the scorching hot days.

We also received tremendous support from our sponsor and head judge Louise Burks of Castle Gardens who hosted all the lunches and half-time refreshments for the judges and photographers. Our judges thought it a real treat to be served with the most delicious cream teas for elevenses!

Grateful thanks to all of our judges: Louise Burks, Brian King, Tim Stiles, Janet Vincent, Jean Gillingham, Mary MaClean, Katherine Vickery, Christine Stones, Malcolm Mills, Steve Fry, Mary Brodie, Elaine Spencer-White, Paul Newman, Cordelia MacFarlane and Sally Westlotorn. Thanks also to Gillian Langham of Sherborne Town Council for showing our judges around the allotment sites.

Thank you to all Sherborne Bradford Abbas Camera Club members for their efforts throughout the year especially Gillian Gunner who also runs our fantastic website.

And finally a huge thanks to Paul Newman, Ady, Simon, Alex and Colin from the Town Council for keeping our town looking so good all year round.

Our judges were Kim Parish and Martin Abrahams and we treated them to a tour of the town designed to show them why Sherborne deserves another gold!

In contrast to the previous few days the weather was cloudy, windy  and rainy but that didn’t stop us getting around .

The tour started at Sherborne Station and proceeded through Pageant Gardens, up Digby Road and into the Abbey.

After visiting Cheap Street and a few locations in between the judging party stopped at the Quarr Local Nature Reserve which is blooming at this time of year.

After a busy two and a half hours ending at the Old and New Castles Kim and Martin were then taken to a reception at the Butterfly House at Castle Gardens where they met all the Growing for a Gold winners and were treated to a delicious cream tea!

Thanks to all the hard-working gardeners of Sherborne who make the town look so beautiful, not just on judging day but all the year round.

Thanks also to Louise and Mike Burks of Gardens Group, our main sponsors of Sherborne in Bloom, for their tremendous support and their hospitality on the day.

Venue
Butterfly House, Castle Gardens, New Road

Opening Times
9:00am – 5:00pm Mon-Fri 12-16 July and Sun 18 July

On Display
Photos taken by Sherborne Bradford Abbas Camera Club
Gardens in ‘Growing for a Gold’ competition

Admission Free

Plenty of parking – come along and see more fabulous photos like this:

Here are some recent shots of the boys and girls working really hard (well, most of them…) gardening and planting at various adopt-a-plots around the town:

These are really worthwhile days out for the kids and the work they do enhances and brightens up our town for everyone to enjoy. Thanks a ton, Gryphon!

In a small town like Sherborne there are many exquisite gardens, hidden behind the houses and beyond the walls, which most people will never see.  Here are some of the sights on view during this rare event:

Thanks to the residents who shared their gardens with us and thanks to Rotary for organising the event.

Traders from across Normandy arrived with their stalls and took over Cheap Street, selling a delicious array of French foods and goodies including bread, pâtisserie, charcuterie, cheeses and, of course, wines… and much more.

We were there with a stall selling Sherborne In Bloom shopping bags (sacs à provisions) which were priced in both Euros and pounds sterling.

Many of the French stall-holders bought shopping bags to take home as souvenirs.

The event was organised with the support of Sherborne Chamber of Trade and Commerce and Sherborne Town Council. A financial contribution was made in support of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Long Live l’Entente Cordiale!

In the spirit of the occasion everyone was encouraged to dress in Victorian costume for a grand parade to the Victorian Market in Pageant Gardens:

The market was well attended, even though the weather was really cold, and there was a brisk trade in Sherborne In Bloom shopping bags:

The steam train 35028 Clan Line sped through, the band played, the Abbey bells pealed out and the clog dancers clogged. This was a wonderful way to celebrate Sherborne’s railway heritage!

The guest speaker was Mark Lane, Gardens Manager of the Queen’s royal gardens.  A packed hall listened to his fascinating presentation of the gardens of Buckingham Palace, past and present. Afterwards he conducted a question and answer session about the garden and its plants.

This was followed by a Gardeners’ Question Time with a panel consisting of Charlotte Allen (Gardens & Parks Manager, Montacute House & Tintinhull Gardens), Mike Burks (Managing Director, The Gardens Group), Professor Geoffrey Dixon (Horticulturalist & Biologist) and Nick Williams-Ellis (Garden & Landscape Designer).

Sherborne In Bloom had a stall where Caroline Rowland exhibited the Preece Cup which we won in 2009 and all our other awards,  and we also distributed literature about SIB 2010 and offered our jute shopping bags for sale.

As a token of our appreciation for his talk we presented Mark Lane with a Sherborne in Bloom shopping bag to give to HM The Queen. He said he would be delighted to pass it on to her!

The event was held in aid of Rotary’s fund to eradicate polio throughout the world. This was an excellent, well-attended event and we thank the Rotary Club for inviting us to take part.

Our Festive Shopping Event was held today to support the charity Clic Sargent which cares for children and young people with cancer.

Cheap Street was closed for traffic and we enjoyed steam engines offering rides, an old steam organ, the Two Castles Youth Band and a number of circus acts!

There was an official lighting-up event at 4.15pm on The Conduit with Olympic Gold Medallist Andrew Simpson MBE switching on the lights on the Christmas tree.  Sherborne Chamber Choir entertained us with carols and mince pies.

The Crystal Man presided over the festivities.  And a lot of shoppers of all ages went home tired, but happy.

Thanks, Crystal Man – come back next year!