Winterton-on-Sea In Bloom

News 2022

JANUARY, 2022. AS we look ahead to the 2022 planting season we look back on what was a particularly busy 2021.

I am pleased to say we achieved everything on our to do list. The team has grown and we now have 27 members and a couple more who would like to join us next year.

In Bloom has also been successful in its Great Yarmouth Tourism application to further improve specific areas around  the village. We are delighted to share the news that we have been awarded £1,500 to help finance our new plans .

In these uncertain times gardening and finding time just to stop and enjoy our surroundings is so important for everyone’s wellbeing. We have had so much feedback from residents and visitors admiring the planting and saying how beautiful the village has looked and asking lots of gardening questions. which we do our best to answer.

We garden organically and plant to encourage wildlife. We have planted several trees and this year we have plans to expand on this.

In September we held our AGM at the village hall. Elaine Hillier stepped down as Vice Chair because of work commitments but still remains an In Bloom member. Elaine was thanked for all her hard work.

Following a unanimous vote Cheryl Knight agreed to become the new Vice Chair  and after the meeting the team enjoyed a buffet and drinks.

During October the team put in winter /spring planting and in the middle of the month the general tidy and cutting back started on all the gardens. This was finished in November, the end of our gardening year .

On December 1st the In Bloom team got together for dinner at the Fishermans. It was good food, good company and a really lovely evening was had by all.

Thank you to all the team for your commitment and dedication. Tools are put away now and it’s time to start armchair gardening. Everyone deserves a well-earned rest now until February/March - weather dependant of course.

We wish you all a very Happy New Year

Claire Thompson

Chair of Winterton in Bloom and all the In Bloom Team

March, 2022. SPRING has sprung and the In Bloom team has been busy over the past few weeks, tidying, planting and mowing.

Members have helped the environmental group plant fruit trees around the village – most of them old Norfolk varieties of eating apples, which are full of flavour. We will all have to be patient because it will be several years before they bear fruit, but it will be well worth the wait.

The volunteers are working hard to make sure the village green looks splendid for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations. The team has created a new bed by the village green signpost, planted with various grasses, shrubs and polyanthus.

John and Gordon have done a fantastic job on repairing the bus shelter, which is also being painted as part of a wider plan to make the area more attractive to residents and visitors.

A lot of work has been carried out on the small green opposite the Church Room, with new beds and planting.

From the comments In Bloom has received everyone loves it. Big thanks to Norman for cutting the village hall green and the walled garden next to the Fisherman’s Return.

We are planting a wildlife hedge on the village hall green. Hopefully in a few years’ time the hedge will be a haven for birds, butterflies, insects and bees.

The schoolchildren are going to be taking part in a sunflower competition and there will be prizes for the three sunflowers that grow the tallest. In Bloom is also donating several trays of plants and flowers for the children to grow flowers and vegetables in planters around the school.

In Bloom members Claire Thompson, Cheryl Knight and Elaine Hillier were on the village green on March 13 to welcome presenters Julie Reinger and Sam Burton during BBC Radio Norfolk's Treasure Quest programme.

Recent sunshine has made such a difference to our gardens it’s so good to see to see colour again.

Make time to sit and enjoy the sun and the birdsong.

Claire Thompson

Chair of Winterton in Bloom and all the In Bloom Team

April, 2022.  MEMBERS of the In Bloom team gathered on the village green for a special ceremony to plant a Queen Elizabeth rose marking the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee.

It was installed in what used to be the children’s flowerbed by Lt Col Terry Byrne, who met the Queen when he was awarded his MBE. He told the group she was dear to his heart.

The hybrid tea rose, chosen by the Queen to celebrate her 70 years on the throne, was launched at the last Chelsea Flower Show. It has pink flowers and a strong sweet fragrance.

For every rose plant sold during the first five years £2.50 will be passed on to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, an organisation that funds college courses, apprenticeships and training in traditional British craftsmanship, from armour conservation and farriery to millinery and instrument making.

October, 2022.  OUR work list at the beginning of the year was extensive, but with grit and determination we managed to accomplish everything on that list.

The bus shelter was painted and pots moved and planted to make this area much more welcoming. The border we created at the back of the bus shelter has really started to come together this year with vibrant colourful plants of every description.

The team put in so many hours hard work to ensure that the village green looked its best to mark the Queens Platinum Jubilee. A Queen Elizabeth Rose was planted to mark this very special occasion.

Thanks to Great Yarmouth Tourism Board funding we were able to create five new shingle beds around the village. All have been planted with sustainable plants that have stood up well to our hot Summer.

We are very proud of the wildlife hedge we created this year on the the village hall green. Hard work, but worth every minute. It is something that will improve year on year.

The hawthorns and privets have had a lot to contend with due to the heat. We lost a few, but the rest seem to be doing okay now.

The wild flower seed bombs were very successful and caused a lot of interest from residents and holiday makers.

It was so lovely to watch the constant hive of activity with visiting bees and butterflies - so rewarding to see.

The Seven Roses planted to mark the seven decades of the late Queens reign are growing really well now. The parish council have kindly agreed to pay for a sign that I designed and hopefully will be in position in the next week or so.

The village has looked stunning and still does. The In Bloom team have had a really enjoyable and fun year. The best part is that we get to meet so many lovely people who stop for a chat.

We will soon be putting away our gardening tools and taking a well deserved rest until next year.

I would like to say massive thanks to everyone in the team for their hard work and dedication.

You are all so much appreciated.

Claire Thompson

Chair of Winterton in Bloom and all the In Bloom Team

November, 2022.  WINTERTON won a surprise triple in the Great Yarmouth in Bloom awards, taking a gold for best village and two silver gilt certificates.

A delighted village In Bloom chairman Claire Thompson said: “We were told our certificates were in the post, but we didn’t know until they arrived what we’d won.”

Dealing with weeks of drought conditions presented a challenge and the team worked on several projects over the year. “But we managed to tick everything on our list,” she said.

That included painting the bus shelter, creating five new shingle beds with sustainable plants, sanding down and repainting all the benches, staining planters and putting in fruit trees.

A wildlife hedge was installed on the village hall green and wildflower seed bombs were used around the village to give butterflies and bees a little help.

A Queen Elizabeth rose was planted on the green for the Diamond Jubilee and seven more were planted in the walled garden as a memorial to commemorate the seven decades of her reign.

Last year, as the country emerged from the Covid lockdowns, the group installed raised, disabled-friendly planters.

As well the coveted gold, the village won silver gilts in the wildlife/ conservation and allotments categories.

John Smithson, the parish councillor responsible for the allotments said the award was a huge boost.  “I think the addition of a water supply must have made a difference,” he said, paying special tribute to the volunteers who put in the physical work to install it.

“We’re very fortunate to have these allotments and it’s great that they are affordable.”

He added that his own plot, which has been used to grow flowers, is to become a haven for birds and will be maintained by Winterton birdwatchers.

In Bloom is not applying for tourism board funding because no major projects are planned, but it is looking for sponsors to help with the cost of buying plants for next year’s displays.

Anyone interested can email: chair@wintertononseainbloom.co.uk for information.