Camden in bloom 2016 – greener together
Camden’s resident and business horticultural heroes came together at the Town Hall on Thursday 22 September to discover who had been successful in this year’s Camden in bloom competition and celebrate sustainability in the borough.
This year's competition focused on rewarding the brilliant efforts of gardeners, community projects and environmentally committed groups for their green initiatives in the community across Camden – from beautifully flourishing green spaces to projects that involve the community in making Camden a greener space to be together.
A popular and well established event, Camden in bloom is the highlight of many gardeners’ calendar. For this year’s event, Camden again partnered with Project Dirt to build on the success of previous competitions and was kindly supported by OCS, City Suburban Tree Surgeons Limited, The Francis Crick Institute, Veolia Environmental Services, Camden Garden Centre, Alara Wholefoods and Indoor Garden Design.
Following a welcome from Councillor Nadia Shah, Mayor of Camden, Councillor Sarah Hayward, Leader of the Council, Councillor Richard Cotton, Deputy Mayor of Camden and Councillor Meric Apak, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Environment presented the prizes across the five categories. Attendees were also treated to a talk from TV gardener Chris Collins.
“I would like to congratulate everybody for taking part, for doing their bit to make Camden greener together. This year we had over 50 business and residential entries, attended 15 judging visits and ran two gardening workshops and magnificent effort by all involved.
“Once again Camden in bloom has proven to be a leading light in the borough’s journey to become a greener and more sustainable place to live and work.”
“I am always delighted to take part in our Camden in bloom awards ceremony. This event provides an opportunity for us to thank and reward all the residents and businesses for their hard work in making Camden’s environment a greener, more pleasant place to live and work.”
“It has been a great pleasure to join the judging process in this year’s Camden in bloom. I would like to thank all the judges who joined me in this endeavour and once again did a fantastic job. The level of every entry was consistently high and we had a tough but enjoyable job deciding the winners in each category.”
There were five categories in the competition this year. For each category, there was a first, second and third prize winner.
Best Community Environmental Project, supported by the Francis Crick Institute
- Third place: LGTA Grow Lissenden
- Second place: Abbey Community Centre
- First place: Highgate Centre Garden Group
Best Individual Garden
- Third place: Carolin Shrives
- Second place: Barbara McDeson
- First place: George and Samira Anderson
Best Communal or Community Garden
- Third place: Montpelier Gardening Group
- Second place: Pioneer House Residents Association
- First place: Marchmont Community Garden
Best Balcony (or small Patio)
- Third place: Marcus Harter
- Second place: Louise Gillic
- First place: Celia Aherne
Best Business Garden
- Third place: The George IV Public House
- Second place: Friends House London Hospitality Limited
- First place: English Folk Dance and Song Society
This year’s judges were: Councillor Richard Cotton, Ian Drummond, Chris Collins, Janet de Vos, Valerie Brown and Lorna Patterson.