Maldon in Bloom

Hanging Baskets High Street	Flower Bed Market Hill	Flowers at the War Memorial

Maldon is an historic maritime town that has two focal points, the High Street and riverside area. Both are important in terms of economic vitality and in attracting visitors to Maldon. The Town Council is passionate about the history of the town but also about present day life here for its residents. The District Council supports this aim by maintaining and improving its green spaces and gardens, and providing floral displays in the town throughout the year.

The High Street is the main retail area, and is also the centre of the conservation area. It includes two Grade 1 listed historic buildings, the Town Hall, the War Memorial, and two closed churchyards, all of which are either owned or maintained by the Town Council. Much of the riverside is also part of the conservation area and includes the Promenade Park, the main leisure area of the town which is maintained by the District Council.

Maldon in Bloom was first launched by Maldon Town Council in 1998 and is supported by the Maldon District Council, community groups and local businesses. Anyone who is a resident of Maldon can enter the competition. All that is needed is somewhere to display your flowers, which could be a front garden, an allotment, your street, a container or the front of your business premises. There are prizes or certificates for a whole range of categories.

MALDON IN BLOOM 2011 COMPETITION

Maldon in Bloom, now in its 14th year, both encourages local businesses and groups to improve our local environment and also recognises the achievements of those who take part.  Community groups, neighbours, local businesses, schools, nurseries, youth groups and keen gardeners all take part to make Maldon a lovely place to live in and visit.

We are encouraging anyone who is a resident of Maldon town to enter, all you need is somewhere to display your flowers, which could be your front garden, large or small, your allotment, your street, any garden maintained by a community, a container, the front of your business premises or a children’s project.  There are prizes or certificates for a whole range of categories, so just take a look at the categories sections and see how you can help your town to once again become a Blaze of Colour and Burst into Bloom this summer.

This year there will be Special Awards for the best entries in the categories, reflecting the 90th anniversary celebrations of the Royal British Legion.

Closing date for entries is Monday 13th June 2011.  To enter please download the leaflet and entry form.

The Maldon in Bloom judges will be touring the town during the week of 13th June 2011, to judge each category.  Prize winners will be selected and will be notified at the presentation evening on Wednesday 22nd June 2011.   Judges will arrive unannounced, so back gardens or features located in a back garden and not easily visible from the road cannot be included in the competition.

Some of the entries will represent Maldon in the regional Anglia in Bloom 2011 competition for which the whole town will be judges during July and entries to the competition will entitle you to a “one off” discount of 10% at the Emporium, High Street, Maldon, on all items purchased from their garden centre.

This year will also feature a Tallest Sunflower Competition, which is organised by the Maldon and Heybridge Horticultural Society and will be judged in September.  To enter tick the sunflower at the bottom of the entry form.

MALDON IN BLOOM 2010 COMPETITION

After one of the worst winters for over 30 years, Maldon bursting into bloom seemed a long way off.  However Britain was set for a spectacular spring and Maldon Town Council launched the Maldon in Bloom competition for the end of March 2010. 

In addition to the town centre, pubs, shops and offices displaying hanging baskets and tubs, the Maldon in Bloom group arranged to have planters along Maldon’s historical Fullbridge Bridge.  The categories for children and youth entries also included special awards for a Soccer World Cup theme.

The judging for the 2010 Maldon in Bloom took place on the 9th and 10th June, and all entrants were invited to the presentation evening on Thursday 17th June 2010. Additionally Maldon took part in the Anglia in Bloom competition, which in 2009 was awarded a Silver Gilt.  The Anglia in Bloom judges, judged the whole town for cleanliness and litter free and graffiti free streets as well as floral display, school projects and community gardens.

MALDON IN BLOOM 2009 COMPETITION

The 2009 Maldon in Bloom Competition was launched in early May with competition leaflets distributed to all town residents, schools and businesses. Posters were displayed around the town and publicity in all local newspapers.

Due to the publicity, the Maldon in Bloom Working Party were delighted with the amount of entries in all categories. A Royal Horticultural Society judge visited the town on Wednesday, 10th June, 2009, and was very impressed with the effort made by all entrants.

All entrants into Maldon in Bloom 2009 were invited to an Awards Presentation evening held at the Maldon Town Hall on Thursday, 16th July, 2009 to thank them for their hard work and achievement. The 2008 presentation evening was a great success with over 70 people attending and certificates handed out by the Town Mayor of Maldon.

A major theme in 2009 has been to improve the less prosperous areas of the town. The High Street is long and runs down to the riverside. The lower end of the High Street has suffered in recent years from shop closures and a contraction of economic activity generally. Both Councils are working towards the improving this part of the town which links the retail and leisure areas. As there are are a number of empty premises and many of the buildings are not suitable for hanging baskets, the Town Council has looked at other ways to introduce floral displays and in 2009 began a project to provide lamp posts holders for floral displays on the lower High Street.

Another theme has been working with local schools and youth services. The success of the project in 2008 to brighten up the hoardings in front of major premises on the high street by using local children’s art work has spurred us on. This year Moat Housing Association has worked with the local schools and youth projects to provide art work for its buildings sites on Wantz Road.

Work with young people continues at the Promenade Park where, as well as the work with the NVQ students on the Blackwater Vocational Scheme which is a two year course, the Parks Department works in partnership with all the local schools and, through this partnership, groups of work experience students from Plume Secondary School are working with the parks staff on a number of projects in the Park. One group designed and built a heron sculpture which was installed last year by the ornamental lake and this year a great white shark has been designed  and built by young people of the same age group and will be installed in the Galleon Bed. This year the students raised the funds for the materials for their sculpture by selling standard Fuchsias which they had grown in the Parks greenhouses.

Staff from the Parks Department work with the four primary schools on their “Design and Plant a Flower Bed” project throughout the Spring visiting the children in their class rooms to sow their seeds and prick out the plants. The flowerbeds are planted out by the children in late May in various locations around the town. Two of the beds are planted on the schools premises so the children can maintain and water their plants through the Summer.

The Town Council could not achieve what it does without the close co-operation of Maldon District Council (which is its grounds maintenance contractor as well as a partner) and the many local organisations, schools and individuals who volunteer to make Maldon a lovely town in which to live or visit.