At the recent South West in Bloom ceremony, held this year in Weston-super-Mare, Glastonbury's floral display won two prestigious awards.

Having been a previous class winner when the competition was last held in 2019, this year the town automatically entered into the Champion of Champions category. Despite being up against some quality exhibits, Glastonbury was awarded Gold, the highest accolade that could be achieved. This year the exhibits followed a rainbow theme, in recognition of the sterling work and dedication of the NHS.

In addition, the Abbis Cup for the best floral display on a municipal building was awarded to the Town Hall and the Information Centre. Cllr Jon Cousins, Mayor of Glastonbury, praised all who have involved themselves with the floral displays this year, including the volunteers and town council staff.

Cllr Laiqa Browne, Deputy Mayor, attended the awards ceremony with volunteers Gerald Morgan and Mark Penton, and said: "It was an honour to attend this year's awards ceremony and I extremely proud to be representing a town that has been identified as the region's best for two categories."

The work of planning, planting, watering and maintaining the floral displays is a cost met by the town council.

"The feel good factor of beautiful floral displays makes all the effort worthwhile," added Cllr Browne.

Glastonbury in Bloom Competition

The Glastonbury in Bloom competition itself saw a record number of entries this year including many new entrants. The presentation of awards for this event took place in the Town Hall on the evening of the 15th October and were presented by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

The organisers suggested that more of the town's people could enter the competition, as many good gardens were noted during the judging week, a greater entry would impress the South West in Bloom judges even more. A plea for more volunteers was also made to assist in maintaining the town's floral displays and keeping streets tidy as the monthly litter picks are being well supported.

All round this year's competition has been very successful indeed and the only way forward is to involve more people in various projects and initiatives to make Glastonbury a town to be proud of and a delight to visitors and resident alike.