Stony Stratford in Bloom

2015 The Community Project for Everyone

Silver Gilt Award 2008, 2009 , 2014

Gold Award 2010 , 2011, 2012, 2013

Best in Small Town Categ ory 2010,

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

National Silver Award 2011

Part funded by

Introduction 2 Stony Stratford in Bloom 2015

Contents

Introduction 3

5

Year-Round Floral Impact 6

Greener streets Better lives 9

Conservation and Biodiversity 14

Sustainability 16

Local Heritage 22

Pride of Place 24

Links with Local Authority and Business 25

Fundraising and Community Involvement 26

Schools and Young People 28

Communication and Publicity 30

Front cover photograph: St Mary & St Giles Junior School pupils gather produce they have

grown ready for the chef to make into school dinners

Hanging baskets in Stony Stratford High Street

21 June 2015

file:///C:/Users/Robin/Documents/StonyStratfordInBloom/Portfolio2015/PortfolioPrep2015.doc%23_Toc423185340

Introduction 3 Stony Stratford in Bloom 2015

Introduction

Greening the Streets of Stony Stratford

Greener Streets:

Better Lives struck an immediate chord

with Stony Stratford in Bloom (SSIB)

this maxim ever since we began in 2008,

when in partnership with the Town Council

we filled a host of planters with flowers to

bring life to concrete pavements. The local

Business Association was already

organising a hanging baskets scheme to

contribute colour and vibrancy to the High

Stre

tandem with them on colour schemes and

created a number of beds with perennials

and shrubs in the town, and they are

maturing beautifully. Over the last few

months, however, embodying the greening

that roadsides bloom, and residents have

been very appreciative of our efforts.

One of our key initiatives this year has

been working with the Town Council to

try to gain Green Flag Status for the

Wolverton Road Recreation Ground.

SSIB volunteers decided to fund-raise to

create a flower bed of roses and

colourful annuals at the entrance to the

park. Wolverton Road is one of the

main roads into Stony Stratford, and we

felt that such a bed would we lcome

people into the park, and be visible to

those on foot or in cars. Similarly, we

at the four entrances to Stony Stratford

to include bright displays of scarlet and

pink pelargoniums to dazzle the eye of

visitors t o the town.

Involving children in Stony in Bloom

activities has always been our aim, and

they contributed enthusiastically to the

18 June 2015

22 June 2015

Introduction 4 Stony Stratford in Bloom 2015

greening of the town, sowing seeds which SSIB volunteers could later plant along busy

roads. They also sowed and then planted out sunflowers in the safer area of the Wolverton

Road Recreation Ground. SSIB chose the busy London Road into the town for the free RHS

nasturtium seeds, and added cheerful golden marigolds and multi -coloured hollyhocks to

this pavement border.

The Ostlers Lane entrance to the town has benefitted from the generosity of Ron and Eileen

Cox, who have sponsored a large number of Remembrance roses along the curve of the

road. Ron not only sponsored the roses, but helped to dig and plant them, and he maintains

them with immense dedication!

inspirational talk on exotic gardens encouraged us to design an exotic bed in the centre of

Stony Stratford, we also created a bed at the side of a new play-park in Galley Hill this year.

A ward councillor had paid for the shrubs and edging for this and two other beds close by

from his allocation, and we feel this has made a great difference.

What with starting new beds and maintaining the old; organising gardening at the schools;

and fund -raising for more beautiful plants, work never stops, but fortunately new

volunteers keep on coming, bringing different skills to the group. In the pages that follow

we hope to show how with our twice -weekly wo rk-parties we keep Stony Stratford looking

beautiful throughout the year. We also hope to demonstrate our commitment to a

sustainable environment. And crucially, we aim to show the involvement of a wide range of

What is most important to us is that Stony

Stratford in Bloom encourages pride in the town and brings the community together.

Judy Deveson (Chair of Stony Stratford in Bloom)

Stony Stratford in Bloom activities are reported regularly in the Town Crier, published

quarterly by Stony Stratford Town Council , the Stony Stratford in Bloom website

http://www.stonyinbloom.org.uk and on our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stony -in-Bloom/111313445624096?ref=ts.

Children enjoyi

Map on p. 5 contains Ordnance Survey data Crown copyright and database right 2014.

12 October 2014

http://www.stonyinbloom.org.uk/https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stony-in-Bloom/111313445624096?ref=ts

Stony Stratford

in Bloom

Friday, 10 July 2015

Key 0 Calcutta Brasserie Car Park 1 Library 2 Queen Eleanor Garden; Mille nnium bed and pond

3 Remembrance Rose Bed 4 St Mary & St Giles School 5 Wolverton Road Recreation Ground and Allotments

6 York House Community Gardens 7 Gal ley Play Park 8 Four Seasons Garden 9 War Memorial 10 Mill Field, Ouse Valley Park 11 Market Square

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Year-Round Floral Impact 6 Stony Stratford in Bloom 2015

Year-Round Floral Impact

Floral planters in late summer Church garden in late summer

3 September 2014

3 September 2014 3 September 2014

Year-Round Floral Impact 7 Stony Stratford in Bloom 2015

Early tulips in Church Street

Market Square petal planter in spring

13 May 2015