RHS Judging Criteria
How Sherborne In Bloom is Judged
South West In Bloom now uses the comprehensive judging criteria laid down by RHS Britain In Bloom. Gone are the days when you could stick up a few hanging baskets and expect to be awarded a lot of precious points! The judges are very strict and they expect to see examples of excellence in all the following areas:
| SECTION A – Horticultural Achievement | ||
| Assessing year-round horticultural achievement including conservation and natural areas. |
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| Max points | ||
| A1. | Impact – design, colours, appropriate choice of plants, special features, presentation, innovation | 20 |
| A2. | Horticultural practice – cultivation and maintenance, quality of plants, sustainability, new planting | 20 |
| A3. | Residential and Community Gardening – residential, communal areas, allotments, public buildings (grounds of churches, schools etc.), car parks | 20 |
| A4. | Business Areas and Premises – retail and shopping areas, leisure sites, transport terminals, car parks, farms, rural businesses, pubs, post offices, tourist areas/attractions, offices, estate agents etc. | 20 |
| A5. | Green Spaces – verges, parks and open public spaces | 20 |
| SECTION B – Environmental Responsibility | ||
| Assessing year-round activities improving environmental responsibility. | ||
| B1. | Conservation and biodiversity – wildlife areas, natural habitat | 10 |
| B2. | Resource management – recycling, minimising demand placed on natural resources and any harmful impact on the environment | 10 |
| B3. | Local heritage –management and development of local heritage and/or identity, inclusive of natural heritage | 10 |
| B4. | Local environmental quality – management of vacant premises and plots, litter, graffiti, fly-posting, dog fouling etc. | 10 |
| B5. | Pride of place – management of street furniture, signage, art in the landscape and hard landscaping | 10 |
| SECTION C – Community Participation |
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| Assessing year-round community participation |
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| C1. | Development and continuity – Development and sustainability of the local bloom initiative and evidence of on-going projects | 10 |
| C2. | Communication and education – community awareness and understanding, engagement with schools and young people and/or other community groups, press coverage, publicity materials |
10 |
| C3. | Community participation – community involvement is representative of the community’s size and diversity | 10 |
| C4. | Year-round involvement – schedules of events and supporting evidence of year-round activity (primary evidence to be presented in 15 minute presentation) |
10 |
| C5. | Funding and Support – initiatives to secure on-going support for the local bloom campaign including local business support | 10 |
| Maximum number of points awarded | 200 | |
The SW In Bloom judges visit the town for two hours and are given a tour around, about half on foot and half by vehicle. We have to show them examples of all the above types of location. They also expect to see a written portfolio illustrating our year-round ‘In Bloom’ efforts and other locations that they didn’t see on judging day.
Every year we try to do better than the year before and to show them something that will really impress them. The work goes on!
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