To keep up to date with all things 'Alton in Bloom' and for helpful tips and advice and to share your own gardening wins please join our Alton in Bloom Facebook Group - www.facebook.com/groups/altoninbloom
Alton in Bloom is a local initiative run by Alton Town Council to recognise the residents and volunteers in our community that contribute to making Alton beautiful.
Alton in Bloom was re-imagined for 2022 - with the Council's focus on climate change and environmental issues, the previous format of 'In Bloom' has been replaced with a new concept.
Residents and community groups were invited to pledge to undertake one of the following categories:
1) Re-wild an area of any size, in your garden or a nearby communal area (with landowners permission).
What is Re-wilding?
Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation. It's about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes. Through rewilding, wildlife's natural rhythms create wilder, more biodiverse habitats.
Rewilding is a journey with no fixed end point. The goal is to help nature help itself so it can thrive into the future. There’s not a defined set of actions to take. What you do will depend on your individual circumstance, your ambition, the size of your land, the state of your soils and water, the features in your landscape, your neighbour’s activities and so much more. No one can tell you exactly what to do, but
www.rewildingbritain.org.uk is helpful guide.
2)
Give incredible edibles a try; anything from planting fruit canes, growing veggies in tubs or creating a raised bed or allotment plot in your garden. Nothing beats the taste of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs grown in your own garden - or the satisfaction and enjoyment you can get from doing it. Not sure what to grow or where to start? Take a look at the RHS website for some great the tips and advice -
www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own
3) Engage in wildlife friendly gardening - maybe by planting extra pollinators, creating a habitat for a hedgehog, frog or other visitor, or installing a bird or bat box.
Use the blank canvas of your garden to make a home for wildlife. With a bit of encouragement your garden can become a popular destination for a wide range of visitors. Although it may take some time for the plants, shrubs and trees to get established, you can start from scratch and plan exactly what you would like to put in.
- Provide shelter: Start by providing shelter, resting and nesting areas with a couple of silver birches and/or a selection of native shrubs, like holly or guelder rose. This will add height to your landscape and also provide much-needed shade for you in summer.
- Use all the available space: Your garden is a three-dimensional space, so try to make use of all the available surfaces, including walls, fences and roofs. The most wildlife-friendly gardens are those full of plants, with little or no ground showing at all! Even your patio can be enhanced with containers of nectar-rich plants that will attract butterflies and bees.
- Make a meadow: Your garden may well have a lawn which, if mown too frequently, will not support much wildlife. Consider replacing it completely in favour of more planting, and/or a pond. If you want to keep a grassed area, plant a small wildflower meadow that will play host to a multitude of butterflies, bees and other insects.
- Dig a pond: However small your patch, there is always room for a pond. Even a small sink or tub pond, with a few aquatic plants, can make a great wildlife habitat. Ponds of all shapes and sizes benefit different communities of wildlife – water-loving insects dive beneath the surface, birds prey on amphibians, and small mammals come to drink.
- Use wildlife-friendly pest control: The tender new shoots of your establishing plants might delight the local community of slugs and snails, but don’t be tempted to use pellets containing potentially harmful chemicals – there are plenty of alternative ways of controlling them, such as creating barriers or companion planting. Try to accept that they are an inevitable presence, however, as they do provide a delicious meal for frogs, toads, hedgehogs and birds.
- Provide vertical planting: Fix wires and trellis on any appropriate vertical surface to support wildlife-friendly climbing plants, such as honeysuckle, jasmine and wisteria. Ivy and Virginia creeper can gallop up a wall or fence unaided and offer an excellent habitat and food source for many creatures.
- Go native: Choose plants that are native to your area – a walk around the local countryside will provide inspiration.
- Provide food and nesting sites: Provide feeding stations, water, and nest boxes to help birds and animals while your plants are establishing.
4
) Plant a tree or if you don't have the space, sponsor a tree for £50 as part of the new Alton Town Council's- Queen's Green Canopy. Alton Town Council will be planting a new community fruit orchard at Windmill Hill. Here is the google form link to reserve your tree
https://forms.gle/omf6i3G7rXEvPyUZ65)
Tallest Sunflower Competition, with two separate categories for children and adults