Stony in Bloom News

Fund-raising Buffet Dinner at Calcutta Brasserie

Hoping for a dazzling daffodil display next spring

Today Stony in Bloom volunteers planted a host of golden daffodils near the Calverton Road picnic area by the river. We are hoping for lots of cheerful colour in the new year as winter gives way to spring.

Colourful crocuses for Galley Hill

When the daffodils had been planted by the river the Stony in Bloom volunteers made their way to Galley Hill, where they dug in hundreds of crocuses opposite Queen Eleanor School. So next spring parents will be able to feast their eyes on a wonderful sea of purple and white blossoms as they wait to pick up their children from school.

29 October 2011

Cakes to Sweeten our Labours on the Galley Hill Community Tidy Up Day

Congratulations to Louise Reidy for her very successful organisation of the Galley Hill Community Tidy Up day on Saturday, 29 October and many thanks to her for producing cakes for the volunteers who turned up on the day, as well as providing all the hard work behind the organisation.

Responding to leaflets, posters and through word-of-mouth, twenty-five people took part in the clean-up event, including residents of Galley Hill, members of the congregation of the evangelical church which meets above the shop, Tony Jeffs and Mike Bryant, the Community Safety Wardens, and a number of Stony in Bloom volunteers – and by 11.30 am a large number of black bags were filled with rubbish.

Louise took the opportunity to explain her wider plans for pocket gardens in Galley Hill to the gathering, in the hope of persuading those present to engage with these plans too; and what was wonderful about the whole occasion was that the Pastor of the Church and members of the congregation assured us that they are very happy to get involved in the future in improving the area and maintaining plants that need watering.

21 October 2011

Never too Young to Help – Young Bloomers join in with Stony in Bloom’s big summer–winter changeover

It’s always a wrench to pluck out summer plants that still haven’t faded, in order to plant the winter blooms, but we all know it has to be done before winter frosts do their worst.

On Wednesday, 19 October a group of Stony in Bloom volunteers took the first step in the process of changing over from summer to winter, by sorting out the winter plants that had been resting over the summer in Stony in Bloom’s York House Community Plot.

The next day Stony Stratford Business Association volunteers dismantled the hanging baskets that have blossomed so dazzlingly throughout the summer and autumn, and took them to Alderton Nursery, where a Stony in Bloom group were ready to empty them.

Friday was the day when the geraniums and petunias came out, and were replaced with winter colour in a variety of textures: box, Sarcococca, ivies, blue and white winter pansies, tall grasses (Stipa tenuissima, Stipa Arundinacea) purple Heuchera and Euonymous ‘Emerald & Gold’ as well as spring bulbs (Tulip ‘Île de France’, Tulip ‘Heart’s Delight’ and small daffodils).

21 October 2011

Stony Stratford Walkers walk the camomile path

During their outing on Friday, 21 October the Stony Statford Walkers visited Stony in Bloom’s camomile path at Queen Eleanor’s Garden at the north end of the High Street.

19 October 2011

Look out for more bluebells in the Bluebell Wood when spring comes!

A working party of Stony in Bloom volunteers planted more bluebell bulbs in the ‘Bluebell Wood’ at the top of London Road.

9 October 2011

Celebrating retirement by planting fritillaries in the Millfield

Catherine King decided to celebrate her retirement in a different sort of way – and in a manner that the whole town can enjoy. She and Mary Cater invited friends to come with them to plant fritillaries in the Millfield on Sunday, 9 October, before returning to indulge in the more traditional celebratory activities of sipping sparkling wine and eating delicious food. They chose the spot carefully, as fritillaries need a moist soil. So, look out for the lovely purple helmets appearingin the grass next spring!

5 October 2011

It's autumn and Queen Eleanor Brownie bulb-planting time again!

It was a race against the dying light as the Queen Eleanor Brownies planted lots of tête-á-tête daffodils saved from last year in their bed in front of Queen Eleanor School on the evening of Wednesday, 5 October. Some of the Brownies who were bulb-planting had been the ones who had spoken to the Regional and National Britain in Bloom judges when they did their tour of Stony Stratford, and they were delighted that Stony in Bloom had done so well in the competition. The tête-á-tête will provide a lovely splash of colour next spring.

5 October 2011

The Regional Britain in Bloom Judges come to St Mary & St Giles and Queen Eleanor Schools to present their Awards

On 5 October Anne Kempson, one of the Regional Britain in Bloom Judges, presented the Mark Mattock School Challenge Cup to St Mary & St Giles Junior School in an afternoon assembly. She said how delighted she was at the enthusiasm shown by the children for their gardening sessions. Mr Kieran Salter, who became Head at the beginning of this term, praised the children for their achievements and Stony in Bloom volunteers for their gardening sessions with the children.

Anne Kempson then joined the other regional judge, Norman Parker, at Queen Eleanor School, to present the Special Award for Environmental Innovation, in recognition of Fiona Collins's splendid idea of making a greenhouse out of plastic bottles.

Both schools, and also the Stony in Bloom group, are very grateful indeed to Anne and Norman for giving up their time to honour the achievements of the schools in this way.

2 October 2011

There was music and dancing and sunshine and perry as Dr Mike Brown of Prebendal Manor snipped the ribbon to open Stony in Bloom’s Queen Eleanor Garden

In almost all respects it was a perfect afternoon for the opening of the Queen Eleanor Garden at the north (Old Stratford) end of Stony Stratford High Street on Sunday. The sun beamed down obligingly as Dr Mike Brown, Curator of Prebendal Manor, processed up the High Street from the Vaults to the pipe and drum of Sara, a professional thirteenth-century musician.

They were followed by a crowd of interested onlookers, and when they reached the garden, where about a hundred people had gathered, Sara was joined by fellow musician, Matthew. Mike and the musicians were in period costume, and some of the Stony in Bloom volunteers serving the mediaeval cakes and pastries that they’d made for the visitors had also tried their best to give their appearance a generally mediaeval look.

On Sunday Mike had brought mediaeval tools, and was happy to explain their uses to people who gathered around.

The music proved too tempting …

… and soon the onlookers, volunteers and Mike were joining hands and leaping to its rhythm. Alas, one leap proved too much for Mike, and he pulled his Achilles tendon – a very painful thing to do. He was amazingly philosophical – listening to the music until the end of the afternoon, before hobbling off on a make-shift crutch (a mediaeval wooden spade under each arm) to be swept off to casualty by a friend.

As well as the mediaeval cakes and pastries, there were pancakes, and also perry, real ale and elderflower cordial served – all very popular and appropriate on this warm, autumn afternoon.

Stony in Bloom would like to thank Mike enormously for making this opening of the Queen Eleanor Garden such an interesting event; also, the musicians, for their delightful music; the Stony residents and visitors for coming and having a good time, and the Stony Stratford Business Association for their support for publicity for the occasion. (We were also very grateful to the sun!)

Stony in Bloom had created the Queen Eleanor Garden to commemorate Stony Stratford’s historical link with Queen Eleanor of Castile, using funds from an Open Gardens event they’d helped organise in 2007. The Futures Group provided two beautiful benches for visitors to enjoy a rest surrounded by fragrant herbs and flowers. Stony in Bloom approached Mike for guidance on the plants and design of a thirteenth-century garden, and he was enormously helpful throughout, donating seeds, and visiting the site as it was transformed by Stony in Bloom volunteers (with help from Dominic Harris) from a patch of dandelion-filled grass to raised beds containing bare earth, and then to a very attractive garden.

25 September 2011

National Silver Award 2011

Judy Deveson (centre) and Mary Sarre receive the Silver Award from Rachel de Thame. Photo © Fife Council

Follow this link to official photo

Award announced at National Awards Ceremony in St Andrews on Sunday, 25 September 2011

21 September 2011

Gold Award 2011

Best in category: Small Town 2011
RHS ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ Award 2011 for York House Community Gardens
Thames and Chilterns Regional Schools Challenge Award and Mark Mattock Cup 2011 to St Mary & St Giles Junior School
Thames and Chilterns Regional Environmental Innovation Award 2011 to Queen Eleanor School for their plastic bottle greenhouse

Thames and Chilterns Regional Awards announced on 21 September 2011

21 September 2011

The FS Bed

The Formiums, which had suffered from the hard winter (see picture above), have been nursed back to life in Stony in Bloom’s plot in the York House Community Gardens, and a group of Stony in Bloom volunteers have now planted them in the FS bed on Fullers Slade, helping to define the F and the S more clearly. They have also planted twelve Euonymous, to brighten up the bed throughout the year. In the spring and summer there will be bulbs and annuals for extra colour.

17 September 2011

Grand opening of the York House Community Gardens

Norman Parker was the guest of honour to open the gardens, which he did with his usual warmth, and there was a Gardeners’ Question Time with a panel of Norman Parker, Theresa Wedderburn and Albert Harris, which was very useful. All in all it was a lovely occasion, and the deluge came before it began and after it was over, which was very convenient!

15 September 2011

Moving on to the Stony in Bloom Year 2011–2012

A brief rest from its gardening labours after the big push to make Stony Stratford bloom at its very best for the two judging days in the summer, and then the Stony in Bloom group got back into the rhythm of the new gardening year. We find out:

The Regional Results on 21 September in Chesham.
The National Final Results in St Andrews, Scotland on 25 September.

Meanwhile, weeds never stop growing, bushes need pruning, and faded flowers need dead-heading, so the working parties have started up once again!

Millions of Marigolds to Deadhead!

That was the first task for a working party in King George’s Crescent, and then later we had to thin some of these beautiful but rampaging blossoms so that they didn’t suffocate the perennials crouching beneath.

Pruning the Perennials and Shrubs

Next we had lots of lavender to prune on the Ousebank Way/Calverton Road bed, in the Augustus Road Garden and in the Hale Avenue Sensory Garden. And there were salvias and hardy geraniums in need in of a snip too.

Weeding Stony in Bloom’s York House Community plot

With the York House Community Garden Grand Opening on Saturday, 17 September it was time to get rid of those weeds that keep popping up on our York House Community plot. Stony in Bloom volunteers are also busy baking for the Bring and Buy Stall and searching in the cupboard for jam they made earlier!

Alliums for King George's Crescent

Most recently, SIB volunteers were out planting alliums in the link bed in King George’s Crescent.

More camomile for the Queen Eleanor Garden

And then it was on to the Queen Eleanor Garden at the north end of the High Street, where there was extra camomile to plant, marsh mallow plants to prune, and yet more marigolds in need of dead-heading!

This bed needs to be looking its best for 2 October, when Dr Mike Brown of Prebendal Manor, clad in period costume, will preside at the grand opening. Professional musicians will play thirteenth-century music to give the authentic backcloth to the event, and visitors will have a chance to drink cider, perry and real ale, and taste delicious food, authentic for the period.

11 August 2011

RHS national judges came to Stony Stratford

Here is the route the national judges took:

Please note that this route has been modified slightly since it was first posted and the actual route differs from that printed in the Stony In Bloom 2011 Portfolio.

6 August 2011

Stony Stratford Community Tidy Day

Many community organisations joined in the big drive to get Stony Stratford looking immaculate before the RHS national judges arrive on Thursday, 11 August. Volunteers assembled at the York House car park with a range of equipment before moving out through the town to get everything tidy and neat.

2 August 2011

Royal Horticultural Society photographer visits Stony Stratford

All photographs by Julian Weigall; © RHS

23 July 2011

Golden Garden Award Ceremony

Winners of the recent Golden Gardens competition, as well as gardeners whose gardens were ‘highly commended’ by the judges, crowded in to an Award Ceremony in Stony Stratford Library at 11 am on Saturday, 23 July, when the prizes and certificates were presented by Councillor Rob Gifford, Chair of Stony Stratford Town Council. The prizes had been kindly donated by Acorn Nurseries of Emberton, whose Michael George was also present at the Award Ceremony.

As reported below, first prize was awarded to Grace McMahon for 95 Malletts Close, second prize went to Gordon Phillips for 2 Flitton Court, and joint third prize winners were Joyce Andrews of 37 Ousebank Way and Sue Carroll of 106 Clarence Road. You can see photographs of all these gardens in the earlier report.

In addition to these winners, there were many gardens awarded Highly Commended certificates: very few marks separated the ‘Highly Commended’ gardens from the prizewinners, such was the quality of the gardens overall.

This is the third year of the competition and the gardens seem to get better every year. Everyone in Stony Stratford, and visitors to the town, are grateful to the owners of all these beautiful gardens for improving our neighbourhood, and making us smile.

23 July 2011

Fullers Slade Fun Day

This was the second year that Stony in Bloom had been asked to contribute an activity for children for the Fullers Slade Community Fun Day – and Theresa Wedderburn’s idea of providing materials for children to create miniature gardens was enthusiastically taken up by lots of children last Saturday. A friendly burger-seller offered us free polystyrene containers; Theresa supplied the soil, bits and pieces from her garden and house, and the children supplied the ingenuity and artisitic flair. Some also drew interesting garden designs. There was a lollipop for all who took part, and we awarded five prizes to the most beautiful picture or garden. The event was organised by Niki Chapman, and was a great success.

21 July 2011

Baptist Youth Group clean up the Town

The Youth Group from the Community Church on Horsefair Green were out playing their part in the big clean-up prior to the arrival of the national judges on Thursday, 11 August. Here they are adding a shine to the street furniture and planters on the High Street.

16 July 2011

The end of the cow parsley in the Bluebell Wood

Though the lacy cow parsley had looked very pretty in its prime in the Bluebell Wood, now that the wood is filled with dead stalks, we decided that it was time to cut the cow parsley down. So on Saturday, 16 July a group of Stony in Bloom volunteers launched their assault and carried huge armfuls of it to the edge of the wood. Milton Keynes Coucil’s Neighbourhood Management Team has kindly offered to chop it up, so we can use it as mulch either to renew the paths again, or for other areas when it has had time to compost. While we were there we noticed that someone had been fly-tipping leylandii, and we have contacted Milton Keynes Coucil about this so something can be done.

Not only are we showing the Bluebell Wood to the National Britain in Bloom Final judges, but also it’s one of the projects that the Royal Horticultural Society’s photographer was able to photograph when he came to take pictures in Stony Stratford on 2 August.

11 July 2011

Stony Open Gardens hands over £6100 to Willen Hospice!

On Monday, 11 July the organising committee for Stony Open Gardens got together with the folk who opened their gardens to hand over a cheque for £6100 to Willen Hospice and to celebrate the success of the venture. For the full story and more pictures, follow this link to the Stony Open Gardens page.

9 July 2011

Golden Gardens Awards

The Stony Stratford Golden Gardens Awards were established as a way of rewarding those gardeners whose front gardens give so much pleasure to their neighbours and passers-by and to encourage everyone with a front garden, or even window boxes and door-step containers, to brighten up their neighbourhood.

Stony in Bloom members of the judging team viewed a wonderful succession of front gardens: some entered by the owners; some nominated by neighbours. The gardens were very varied in style, size and aspect and were judged on the impact on the neighbourhood and passers-by, the overall design and use of space, choice and suitability of plants, hard landscaping, and maintenance.

There was a very high standard in the gardens nominated for this year’s Golden Gardens Awards, and on Saturday, 9 July the judges had the difficult task of deciding which gardens should be awarded the prizes. The judges’ decisions were:

First prize went to 95 Malletts Close (Grace Macmahon), a small front garden but filled to the brim with roses, climbers, shrubs and colourful perennials and annuals, set off by a lovely green lawn and white picket fence, giving a terrific ‘wow’ factor for passers-by.

Second prize was awarded to 2 Flitton Court (Gordon Phillips), a gravel garden with striking landscaping, and beautiful flowering shrubs and perennials drawing the eye into every corner.

Joint third prize winners were 37 Ousebank Way (Joyce Andrews), a traditional front garden with pretty perennial borders surrounding a diamond-shaped bed filled with colour (pictured left); and 106 Clarence Road (Sue Carroll), a small paved front garden with shrubs, perennials and annuals in well-arranged pots and containers (pictured right).

6 July 2011

RHS regional judges came to Stony Stratford

Here is the route the regional judges took:

27 June 2011

Masking the eyesore

An empty plot of land enclosed by ugly metal fencing on the edge of the Market Square has been irritating Stony in Bloom volunteers for some time. While the absentee owners leave it to languish it attracts rubbish and spoils the beauty of the environment at the heart of the town. Something had to be done! The solution? A little guerilla gardening and litter-picking. A Stony in Bloom volunteer squeezed through the side of the wobbly fence and planted a few hollyhocks, hardy geraniums and herb robert and picked up the coke cans and crisp packets that had gathered. Lovely rosebay willow herb was already blooming on the builders’ rubble, and ragwort, but the fence detracted from the attractive wilderness. We decided that a few hanging baskets would help, so now some of the ugly fence is disguised with nasturtiums, dog daisies and trailing tomato plants!

23 June 2011

Students from Slated Row Special School at the Stony Farmers’ Market selling plants they have grown

Slated Row pupils have learnt all about gardening through growing vegetables, flowers and herbs at school. A polytunnel allows them to continue tending plants throughout the year. Here they are taking great delight in selling their produce to admiring customers at the Stony Farmers’ Market. Stony in Bloom volunteers bought some very healthy nasturtiums for beautifying the town, and couldn’t resist getting some lovely hanging baskets with purple surfina for their own gardens!

8 June 2011

King George’s Crescent entrance to Wolverton Road Recreation Ground enjoys a facelift

When King George’s Crescent residents asked Stony in Bloom whether something could be done about the untidy, overgrown bed at the entrance to Wolverton Road Recreation Ground, Stony in Bloom volunteers were keen to respond positively. Stony in Bloom asked Tony Higgins from Milton Keynes Council whether he’d be able to clear the bed of the rampaging shrubs, and he obligingly agreed.

The next step was to consult the residents again about how they’d like the border to be planted, and then Mary Sarre drew up a design to incorporate their ideas. Residents said they were happy to try to keep the area tidy if Stony in Bloom set them off with a nicely designed bed. Once the ground was cleared and the plants bought or donated, the planting could begin.

So on 8 June six enthusiastic Stony in Bloom volunteers arrived to work their transformation. Undeterred by the odd burst of driving rain, first they cleared the soil of any lingering convolvulus roots, then, under Mary’s direction, dug in the perennials. Residents said how pleased they were to see the border looking so attractive, and the Stony in Bloom volunteers enjoyed having made a difference!

4 June 2011

Fundraising for Stony in Bloom and Willen Hospice through Stony Open Gardens

Stony in Bloom volunteers were out on the High Street selling tickets for the Stony Open Gardens. See the full story on the Stony Open Gardens page.