Every year, we challenge our services to make every moment of summer matter in our Consensus in Bloom contest. Starting out years ago as a simple gardening competition, it’s bloomed into a celebration of all things in the great outdoors; from garden parties, to freshly grown produce, to sustainable gardening practices and wildlife habitats.
The judges had a very difficult time choosing this year’s winners because they were all just so wonderful – but without further ado, we’re happy to introduce this year’s Consensus in Bloom Champions!
Perrywood House – Wildlife Wonders
Perrywood House nailed the brief of this award, which was a garden that was a welcome, safe space for local wildlife and insects to enjoy. With their handmade bug hotels and hedgehog houses, and colourful collection of bee-friendly flowers – they’ve truly made a wonderful place for the wildlife to visit.
Belstead Mews – Terrific Transformations
Sometimes you just need a complete makeover to make your garden feel new and exciting. The team transformed their garden from good to great, creating a beautiful green space with plenty of places to socialise and little personal details that made it theirs.
Four Winds – Sustainable Spaces
Sustainability is about more than being green or recycling – so the Four Winds team decided to reuse and upcycle products like pallets and old wheelbarrows that were headed for landfill and turn them into gorgeous new planters.
Foxhall Road – Crafty Creations
We love getting creative and putting our imaginations to work – Foxhall Road had so many fun crafting projects over the summer, including hand painting rocks to add to flower pots and weaving their own beautiful dreamcatchers to hang from the trees.
Smythe House – Summer Social
It’s not summer until you’ve got the barbecue out – but Smythe House took it a step further with their very own summer festival full of delicious food, music, colourful décor and the most fabulous handmade festival sign!
Heather Holmes – Baked Blooms
The only thing better than a home cooked meal is one made with ingredients you’ve grown and picked yourselves. The Heather Holmes team enjoyed some absolutely mouth watering treats this summer like fruit pies made with ingredients hand picked from the garden and made with love.
Rowan House – Greatest Grows
From going from not growing their own food, to being our growing champions – Rowan House didn’t want to choose between growing sweet fruits or crispy veggies and decided to grow everything they possibly could, so their garden is always bursting with something new to eat.
Main Road – Gorgeous Gardens
Is there anything more relaxing than spending some time in the garden when the fairy lights start to flicker on? Main Road have created a beautiful place to sit and chat or enjoy the sunshine – making the most of their space to maximum fun.
Upton Grey Close – Fantastic Fun
You may have seen us talk about the FISH philosophy – one of it’s main principles is having fun and there’s definitely plenty of that to be found. There’s been a flash mob of fish taking over the garden, appearing in random places – even on the heads of unsuspecting visitors.
STEPS Supported Living – Making Every Memory Matter
This garden was dedicated to John, who sadly passed away last year – everyone who used to live with him wanted to do something special so created a memorial and held a summer party in his memory with his favourite food on the barbecue and his favourite games to play. A beautiful tribute to a wonderful person.
Thank you to every single one of the people we support and our amazing colleagues who got involved, lit the barbecues, planted seeds, pulled weeds and made every single garden bloom.
