As a reminder, Blooming Milford is a volunteer group of residents who strive to make Milford a better place through gardening related activities – for details, see our website here. Many of the flower displays that you see as you travel through the village were created and are maintained by them and they co-ordinate their efforts closely with Belper Town and Amber Valley Borough councils. They also co-ordinate Milford’s submission into the East Midlands in Bloom (EMIB) competition.
Our biggest project this year was the creation of a large bulb bed along the front our Triangle community garden. For many years Belper Town Council (BTC) have planted winter and summer bedding in this bed, but in recent years have been disappointed with the winter bedding, which has failed to perform. BTC decided not to plant winter bedding this year so with their agreement Blooming Milford decided to plant 2400 bulbs in this bed, from Blooming Milford funds. A mixture of varieties were chosen to flower all year round and to be perennial, so will be a permanent feature. They will therefore be considerably more sustainable than the bedding they replaced.
In our last report in December we described how flyers were sent to every house in the village asking for volunteers for “The Big Milford Bulb Plant” and additional 6 to our usual Blooming Milford volunteers turned up on a mild day in November to plant them.
Volunteers planting 2200 bulbs at the front of The Triangle, November 2022
Nerines were not available in November so 100 were bought later and started in our conservatories then planted in April 2024. 100 Autumn crocuses were bought in June 2024.
The results so far have been spectacular – they’ve far exceeded our expectations and we’ve been very pleasantly surprised. The pictures below are from January to June.
The remainder of The Triangle has been looked after by us since 2013 and looked good this spring as the pictures below show. We have had 8 work parties tidying The Triangle since the last report.
In our last report we described how we had started to hack back a giant forsythia and rampant dogwood on The Triangle. We continued the process this year, cutting back the forsythia and the dogwood even further and removing tons of ivy growing under both. This took 3 work parties alone. The space (and light) now revealed by the pruning has allowed us to plant a dozen perennial flowers in their place, adding colour to what has been a rather dull midsummer season on The Triangle in the past. We have also added bark mulch to paths.
New perennials in the space created by the removal of forsythia and dogwood
New bark chip on paths and Philadelphus in full flower
The Spring Garden in Hopping Mill Meadow is Blooming Milford’s second community garden and was created in March 2020. It features plants, shrubs and bulbs that are at their best early in the year (February – April) with the idea of brightening up a gloomy part of the year. It has matured nicely and produced lovely displays this year, shown below. There have been 3 work parties to tidy it since the last report.
Our third and final community garden is the Autumn Garden in Hopping Mill Meadow, created in 2022 and described in the last report. In that report we thought we’d been let off lightly by the terrible floods of October 2023 but although the Autumn Garden was not submerged, it was badly waterlogged and about 1/3 of the plants died. In 3 work parties since we have added deciduous mulch (provided free by local landscaper Mark Hudson) weeded the area and replanted. The moneys for the new plants will be provided from local Derbyshire County Councillor Gez Kinsella’s Members’ Community Leadership Scheme fund.
Autumn Garden surrounded by water in October 2023 floods
Replanting of Autumn Garden June 2024
The refreshed Autumn Garden was looking good even in early July, as shown in the picture below.
Blooming Milford has been very keen to supply the village with fruit and herbs through the creation of community herb planters (we have 4 over the village) and the 42 community fruit trees we have planted over the years. These now provide parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint, chives, marjoram, fennel rhubarb, apples, pears, plums, damsons, mulberries and quinces free for residents to pick and use. Every year these plants are fed, the larger trees pruned, organic codling moth traps laid for the apples, grass strimmed from round the smaller trees and the herb planters continuously replenished (this year, for example, with 12 new plants from Blooming Milford funds.) Unfortunately, the floods in October already described also affected our orchards. One was completely submerged, and the others waterlogged. Amazingly only 1 tree died (a mulberry, which was replaced) but soil was washed away from the base of many so new topsoil was bought and added. A sign with a key to the fruit types in the orchard was also destroyed and had to be replaced.
Top orchard in Hopping Mill Meadow completely submerged in October 2023 floods
Lower orchard key sign destroyed by floods
We have 4 large cubic metre perennial (therefore sustainable) planters throughout the village. Belper Town Council waters these, but we feed, mulch, prune and replace dead plants (14 new plants this year). By a process of trial and error we are getting better at choosing plants for the positions of the planters – two are very shady, two in full sun, and they’ve done well this year, as the pictures of 3 of them below show. In the top one, in the sun in Fullers Close, geranium “Rozanne” and geum “Blazing Sunset” have done well. In the middle one, in the deep shade by the Children’s Play Area pedestrian crossing, hostas, astilbes and creeping campanula are all thriving.
Fullers Way Planter June 2024
Children’s Play Area Planter June 2024
Strutt Arms Bus Shelter planter June 2024
Blooming Milford has entered Milford and Makeney into the East Midlands in Bloom (EMIB) competition for many years, and last year (as in 2021) got a Gold award in the village category. So impressed were the EMIB judges last year though, that they have entered the village into the nationwide Britain in Bloom village category for 2024 – a major accolade for the village.
Britain in Bloom banner on Children’s Play Area railings
Everyone in the village was sent a flyer asking for help in the tidy up and a “Big Milford Tidy Up” WhatsApp group was created for the volunteers. The response was fantastic – over 20 people volunteered and every weekday evening 7.30pm-8.30pm they diligently tidied the judging route (Milford Social Club – The Triangle – A6 to the War Memorial – Church Steps – the Greenspace – retrace steps – cross A6 – entire riverside path in Hopping Mill Meadow – bottom end of flats – top of Millers Way (“Lavender Walk”).)
Mark Hudson, local landscape gardener, also lent his services, cutting the Strutt Arms verge on the A6, pruning back overhanging trees in The Greenspace and clipping back trees that were overhanging the riverside path in Hopping Mill Meadow. We are very grateful for his help. Here he is clipping back overhanging trees on the riverside path.
East Midlands in Bloom judgement day was on the 10th July and the judges seemed impressed. Whatever, the village is considerably more tidy for us all to enjoy thanks to the efforts of the volunteers.
First work party, Monday 24th June
Work party on the A6
Britain in Bloom (BIB) Judging is on 7th August and if you’d like to help in the tidy up before the judging and are not already in the “Big Milford Tidy Up” WhatsApp group, please contact David Moreton on 07778 004374 and he’ll add you.
