It has been a busy couple of months for the Blooming Milford group following the village’s gold award from East Midlands in Bloom (EMiB) in the Village category.
First the below thank you note was sent to all residents on the judging route to thank them for their efforts in helping to secure our EMiB success.
Thank you note to residents on EMiB judging route
We had several fund raising activities in August and September (a plant sale, jam sale and cabbage & cauliflower sale, manning a water station for the Belper Rover cross country running race) which brought in a total of £350.
Wood Lane water station
Chevin Brae cabbage & cauliflower sale
In September and October we continued our usual maintenance programme for our community gardens, tidying The Triangle in September and The Spring Garden in October. We also tidied up our planters by the Strutt Arms bus stop and the Little Fallows car park, adding giant allium bulbs to the latter.
In November we expanded our numbers of community gardens still further. Whilst tidying the plot of land north of the Children’s Play Area ready for the EMiB judging in July, we also made a temporary flower bed in front of it. In November we have now consolidated this, adding perennial flower bushes (three potentillas of various colours) and numerous perennial plants, as can be seen below.
Bed before tidying
Bed once cleared
Planting bed up
Completed bed
Also as part of the EMiB tidy up we uncovered an area of tarmac which had been buried under feet of soil and leaves on the Children’s Play Area side of the nearby pelican crossing. Belper Town Council kindly donated a large planter and placed it on the newly uncovered tarmac, and Blooming Milford filled it with compost, shade loving perennials (heucheras, hellebores, hostas and pulmonarias) and daffodil bulbs.
Tidying area and planting up new planter
Completed new planter filled with shade loving perennials
Next year Blooming Milford will continue its usual programme of maintenance of the community spaces it already looks after (The Triangle, The Spring Garden, community orchards in Hopping Mill Meadow, communal herb planters, perennial planters, bulbs along the A6 etc.) and following the popularity of the four benches Blooming Milford installed along the riverside path in Hopping Mill Meadow, two more are to be installed in April. We also intend to enter Milford into the East Midlands in Bloom (EMiB) competition again, and if you would like your part of the village to be included on the judging route, or you’d like to get involved in preparing for the judging, please let us know (davidmoretonchevinbrae@gmail.com).
