The Harrogate district took home several gold medals at yesterday’s Yorkshire in Bloom Awards.
Harrogate in Bloom won the gold medal in the small city category for the quality of its floral displays in the town and on the approach roads.
Harrogate in Bloom was also awarded the discretionary Yorkshire Rose Best City Award 2023 at the event, which was held at the Riley-Smith Hall in Tadcaster.
Local towns, villages, and communities across also received recognition for their floral efforts.
Yorkshire in Bloom, which is a regional representative of the RHS Britain in Bloom campaign, encourages people to get green fingered and brighten up their surroundings.
It hopes this will boost local economy through increased tourism and promote environmental maintenance and cleanliness.
Competitors are assessed by local judges based on criteria set by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Here are details of the local winners.
Harrogate in Bloom – Small City Award: Gold (category winner)
Harrogate in Bloom saw a range of floral exhibitions around the town centre coordinated by Harrogate Business Improvement District.
Judges said:
“The floral displays in the town and on the approach roads are excellent and maintained to a high standard. This is matched in places with perennial planting and alternative mowing regimes to improve biodiversity.”
Ripon in Bloom – Town/City Centre Award: Silver Gilt
Judges praised the floral “hidden gems” at Ripon Spa Gardens and Temple Gardens.
They said the display added to the city being “a blooming attractive place to visit”.
Evie Wood’s coronation design in Ripon Spa Gardens
Knaresborough in Bloom – Large Town Award: Gold (joint category winner)
Hanging baskets and floral pots around the town all contributed to Knaresborough’s first prize.
Those involved put a great deal of thought and horticultural knowledge into it, the judges said, as well as describing it as “beautifully carried out”.
Pic: Knaresborough in Bloom Facebook
Starbeck in Bloom – Urban Community Award: Gold (joint category winner)
Starbeck’s entry was considered to be “much loved” by the judges.
They said despite the entry largely being a single Harrogate street, there is a “real sense of community and caring about their local environment”.
Pic: Starbeck in Bloom Facebook
Villages/Communities/Businesses
Birstwith in Bloom — Village Award: Gold (joint category winner)
Birstwith in Bloom — Best Small Community – Winner
Spofforth in Bloom — Village Award: Gold (joint category winner)
Knaresborough Castle — Parks, Gardens, Cemeteries & Buildings Award: Gold
Ripon Spa Gardens — Parks, Gardens, Cemeteries & Buildings Award: Platinum
Valley Gardens — Parks, Gardens, Cemeteries & Buildings Award: Platinum
Millennium Garden Spofforth –RHS ‘It’s your Neighbourhood’ Award: Level 5, Outstanding
Ginny Greenholes Spofforth — RHS ‘It’s your Neighbourhood’ Award: Level 5, Outstanding
Ripon Museum Trust Garden — RHS ‘It’s your Neighbourhood’ Award: Level 5, Outstanding
Woodlands Community Garden — RHS ‘It’s your Neighbourhood’ Award: Level 4, Thriving
Harrogate Golf Club – Small Business Award: Silver Gilt
Goldsborough Hall – Medium Business Award: Gold (category winner)
Nidd Hall Hotel — Medium Business Award: Gold
Rudding Park Hotel – Large Business Award: Gold (category winner)
Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park — Tourist Attractions: Gold
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Harrogate and Ripon gardens win gold at Yorkshire in Bloom awards
Harrogate has been awarded a gold medal and been named a winner in the small city category at last night’s Yorkshire in Bloom awards.
The annual awards encourage communities of all sizes to use flowers to brighten up the landscape as well as foster community spirit and civic pride.
Although Harrogate is a town, it was entered in the ‘small city’ category due to the size of its population and took first place at a ceremony in Tadcaster.
Harrogate Borough Council maintains parks and green spaces across the district.
Harrogate Business Improvement District, which undertakes schemes to drive footfall to the town centre, also won a gold medal and was category winner in the BID division.
Harrogate’s Valley Gardens received a platinum award and Starbeck won a gold medal in the urban community category.
There was success too for Ripon, which took a platinum award for Spa Gardens, a silver gilt award for the city itself and a discretionary award for the best platinum jubilee display.
The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park was awarded a Gold Medal in the Tourist Attractions Award category and a Best Conservation Project Award.
Joel Dibb, Head Gardener said:
“The Garden suffered devastating tree losses last winter due to the disease Phytophthora ramorum. The team took up the challenge to replant and move on from this distressing event and have had a busy year selecting and replanting trees.
The discretionary Conservation Project Award recognises all this hard work and the wildlife conservation we do to keep the garden wildlife friendly.”
A post on Harrogate in Bloom’s Facebook page said:
“Well done to all our local community groups and to the team at Harrogate Borough Council – here’s to further success in 2023!”
Yorkshire in Bloom is a charity incorporated organisation and a regional body representing the RHS Britain in Bloom campaign that is organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Judges assess criteria developed by the RHS in consultation with the regions.
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