pudsey in bloom

Please vote for us!

2012-02-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Next time you visit Asda, please take a moment to vote for our `Olympic Project`. Asda have £200 to give away to the local community project winning most votes. I am sure all the projects featured on their community board are very deserving, but we would like to win!!
We would like to use the money to commemorate the year of the Olympics by creating a small Olympic garden, so come on....show your support and drop your tokens into the Pudsey In Bloom box!

Leeds In Bloom Garden Awards.

2011-09-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Two of our members attended the Leeds In Bloom private garden awards ceremony where they were both presented with a gold medal.

It`s another SILVER!

2011-09-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Some of our members attended the Yorkshire In Bloom Award ceremony today at the Pavillions in Harrogate. We are pleased to announce that we have held onto our SILVER award, and have a fourth certificate to add to our growing collection. We were in fact awarded Silver Gilt for the summer judging round, but a silver for spring , this gave us an overall Silver.

Let`s all congratulate ourselves that once more all the hard work has paid off!

Official Unveiling

2011-09-03T23:56:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 1st September the Civic Society arranged a short ceremony to officially unveil the plaque commemorating the history of the tripe baths. There was quite a gathering of people at the garden, and the plaque was unveiled by the daughter and granddaughter of Mr Job Ross. Afterwards we celebrated with a drink and nibbles at the Crossed Shuttle!

A close up of the plaque for you to read.

2011-07-06T00:51:00.000-07:00

Tripe Baths have their history unveiled

2011-07-06T00:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Civic Society, our now famous tripe baths, re-homed in the Lowtown garden now have a heritage plaque in place to explain their history. We are hoping to have an official `unveiling` in the near future!

The garden is looking especially good at the moment with a lovely colourful border of blue lavender, pink geranium and orange calendulas. And at long last we now have a rubbish bin in place, after first requesting this from the council almost 2 years ago! Its not in the ideal place as we wanted it next to the seats, but due to lack of space one has been positioned just outside the garden on the pavement, please be sure to use it if you visit the garden to eat your sandwich!

Update on our Coffee Morning

2011-06-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

This took place at Pudsey House on Saturday 11th June and was a great success, a big thank you to everyone who gave us their support. It was hard work and most of the hard work fell to Maureen who did much of the organising! We arrived by 8 am to set up the stalls..Tombola, Plants, Bric-a-brac, and refreshments, thanks Julie for the wonderful cup cakes, they went down a treat!

Business was slow at first so we moved a table outside to sell the plants and entice people inside and it worked. We raised £250 for funds, and will definately give this another go!

Here are a few action shots:

Spring Comments now available.

2011-06-09T05:19:00.000-07:00

Following our Spring judging in April, the following comments have now been posted on the Yorkshire In Bloom website- I am sure you will agree they are very encouraging!

Introduction
This small group of dedicated “In Bloomers” are working hard to sustain their efforts across the townand are encouraging young people to get involved in horticultural projects where possible to improve their environment.
SECTION A – Horticultural AchievementAreas of Achievement:The well maintained gardens at the Baptist Church, season colour at St Andrews Methodist Churchand the groomed lawns at the Parish Church. Floral contributions from Mahony & Ward FuneralDirectors, Crossed Shuttle and Stroom add colour around the route. General standard of residential gardens across the town and colourful display at the Fire Station House. The standards of maintenance and the many facilities at Pudsey Park. The refurbishment of Sparrow park.Permanent planting at the Low Town Gardens and the library beds, and the colourful planters at theWar Memorial. The barrier baskets, and tubs maintained by the group, along side the car park beds and small seasonal bed and lawned area outside the Jet station.
Areas for Improvement:We look forward to seeing Sparrow Park evolve over the coming months and maybe considerationbe given to interpretation within the area.Consider a knee rail around the turf area out side the Fire Station house to stop people walking overthis grass; it will help to enhance the planting display in this area.Consider improving the range of colour at the Claremont sheltered housing development by planting areas of early-flowering bulbs i.e. crocuses, to complement the fine daffs.
SECTION B – Environmental ResponsibilityAreas of Achievement:Areas within Pudsey Park, the wildlife areas set aside and the education centre are interesting features within the park. The Tripe Baths at Low Town Garden are a quirky addition to the route.The use of recycled plastic seats at Low Town. The fact that both the Civic Society & the Allotments
ociety are involved with PiB. The town was exceptionally clean and tidy, both litter & graffiti free.
Areas for Improvement:The inclusion of the interpretation boards will help to tell the story for visitors to Low Town Gardens.It would be nice to see some sort of wildlife project within the route that PiB are involved withdirectly. Attention to the detritus at the footpath along side Claremont Grove complex, and the entrance into Lloyds Pharmacy could do with a little attention, possible site for future improvements/clean up. Possible additions that would add interest to the already excellent PudseyPark would be to utilise the empty tanks in the aquarium by introducing a few more species of nativefreshwater fish (if these can’t be sought from captive stock then perhaps consider a few fancygoldfish); and introducing a few more native British captive-bred finches to the aviary.
SECTION C – Community ParticipationAreas of Achievement:The involvement with Crawshaw high school in the development of Sparrow Park is a credit to the Group and the young people involved. The sponsorship from local business’s and the bus company are to be encouraged, good in roads being made. The bulb planting scheme at Claremont Grove Complex and the involvement with the residents and school children. The PiB blog is an interesting concept and it gets the message out to the internet society. Funding contributions from both the Civic Society & Allotment Society towards the refurbishment of SparrowPark.
Areas for Improvement:Continue to work with the high school and other local primary schools within the area. Try to encourage the primary school near Sparrow Park to be involved in its development. To further increase community awareness, consider advertising PiB in the local library.

Sparrow Park Complete

2011-04-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

Planting took part recently in Sparrow Park, with helpers from Crawshaw High school. We all helped to plant up the central bed which has a sensory theme. LCC Parkd division have also planted up four other beds and supplied some new seating. It is looking good and of course will improve as the plants become established.

A Bit of Spring tidying

2011-03-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today some members have been busy tidying the garden at Lowtown. The theme of the beds is prairie planting with a mixture of ornamental grasses and colourful perennials. The grasses however had become a bit out of hand and were in need of a good haircut! Afterwards the beds looked much better. We also planted some alchemilla mollis as an edging to the border which should add another splash of summer colour.

Sparrow Park Update

2011-03-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Things are now moving forward on the Sparrow Park project, and the council have started to map out the new design. The central bed will be raised up, and this is the area that is sponsored jointly by grant money we received fron the YEP Cash in the community award, the Pudsey Civic Society and Pudsey Allotment society. It will be a sensory bed with scented plants and every one has had the opportunity to decide which plants they would like to go in this area. The main planting will take place toward the end of this month just prior to our spring judging so we will be able to show the Yorkshire In Bloom judges what we have achieved.

Members from the Civic Society and students from Crawshaw School will be helping out.

On the Move!

2011-02-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Time to move the 7 barrier troughs back into place on the railings. They are the ones that are planted up with alpine plants and had to be taken down due to work on the new bus station. No mean task as they are incredibly heavy and had been in storage for quite some time behind the greenhouse in the park.

They needed tidying up and had become quite water-logged which is not good for alpines, but the spring bulbs had started to flower so they looked quite colourful.With the aid of a trolley and some helping hands they were trundled through the park one at a time to be put back on the railings where they had come from.

At long last...a new home for the tripe baths

2010-11-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

We are very pleased to report that after being in storage for many months, and with great thanks to Farmac, the tripe baths were safely transported to their new home in the Lowtown garden very early on the morning of November 6th.

It was quite a military operation, but with many hands on deck things went like clockwork.
Just after 8am, the truck arrived from Farmac carrying its precious load.

Then they were lifted off on the hoist and transported on wheels up the path:

It took four strong men to move them into position and a bag of rubble was emptied into each one to add even more weight and help reduce the amount of compost needed to fill them.

Now all that needed doing was a bit of planting, I`ve heard of `crock in the pot` but this was on a rather large scale!

And finally here`s what they look like planted up, perhaps not the prettiest of planting troughs but they certainly are historical and have had an amazing journey, this should now be their home for a very long time to come. The Civic Society have also played a large part in this adventure and are funding some plaques that we will postion near the baths to tell folk all about them, have a look next time you visit the garden, oh and many thanks to `Lightbite` who kindly made us a cup of coffee!

The Tripe baths are coming home!

2010-10-17T10:25:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Farmac building supplies and the civic society who are arranging the transportation of the old tripe baths that have been in storage since the start of the bus station build.
On the 6th November they will be moved to their new home in the Lowtown garden, with a bit of help from friends.
Photos and a post on this event to follow.

It`s that time of year again!

2010-10-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

Time to start the replanting of the troughs and flower tubs with primulas, pansies and bulbs. Twenty troughs to plant up, that`s quite a feat!
Trying to make Pudsey looking its best at the moment is a challenge with the continuing mayhem caused by the building of the new bus station, but the end is in sight, and in the meantime we carry on with the good work...we hope that everyone appreciates our efforts!

And here they are!

2010-07-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

We mangaed to get the fist sign in place in one of the flower beds in Pudsey today during our `pre-judging` tidy. It`s only temporary for the moment until we get time to cement them in, but at least we can show it to the `Yorkshire In Bloom` judges when they visit tomorrow.

New signs for the Flower Beds

2010-07-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

As we work so hard trying to improve the flower beds in Pudsey, we wanted people to see the areas the group have planted, as many still are under the impression that it is Leeds City Council who are doing the hard work. We have used some of the grant money we received from YEP `cash in the community`to have some new signs made that will shortly be appearing. Thanks to Warbla Forge for making them for us and to Teal Signs for the very eye-catching design.

Leeds wins GOLD at Chelsea!

2010-06-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to visit the RHS Chelsea flower show this year, my first ever visit. How wonderful too that Leeds City Council won its first Gold medal with their `Hesco Garden 2010`

The garden created by the council`s Parks and Countryside service with support from sponsors Hesco Bastion Ltd.attracted huge interest as the show was visited by over 150,000 people from all over the world! Based on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, the garden had a stunning centrepiece- a pair of twelve feet high lock gates and a canal section.The garden made history three times over: Leeds City Council`s first ever gold award at Chelsea; the first time any local authority has won a gold medal for an outdoor show garden in the history of the event and the first time a water feature of its type has ever been seen at Chelsea. Apparently offers were made to buy the garden, including one person who wanted to take it back to Dallas in America, but have no fear it is heading back to Leeds with the intention of putting it permanently in one of the public parks in Leeds within one year.

Even better news, as a yorkshire lass, I was invited to take a special tour of the garden, I felt like a celebrity!

Another winner for our region was the Yorkshire Rhubarb Cumble and custard Garden ,as well as winning a Silver medal it was also awarded the peoples vote for best in show in the courtyard gardens section:

Flower beds in the car park rejuvenated!

2010-05-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

Remember back in February, the group were keen to do something to revamp the flower beds in the leisure centre car park? Well we are pleased to say that thanks to a grant we were given from YEP `cash in the community` this project is now underway and already looking much better. Some areas have had cobbles laid down, this seemed the best solution as the trees that were there originally had been vandalised and cars were constantly driving over the soil, now with the cobbles it is much more practical and looks better.

This took a lot of hard work, as the ground had become very compacted after a long period of neglect, and it took an awful lot of digging to try and make the soil workable! We have planted some berberis thunbergii (Atropurpurea), ceanothus, broom (cytisus), some pink geranium, grasses, some tall veronicastrum and cornflowers (centaurea). These will take a while to establish, but already people are commenting on how much better the area looks.

Update on Library Flower Beds

2010-05-17T12:23:00.001-07:00

The two flower beds next to the library were rebuilt by the council and then planted by Pudsey In Bloom, they are now becoming established with a good mixture of perennials, shrubs and spring bulbs. One thing that went when the tired old beds were replaced were two flowering cherry trees, and following comments from last years judges who felt the beds could do with some added height, we decided to replant a flowering cherry in each bed. Although only planted earlier this year, they have had lovely blossom on them, and with luck will go from strength to strength.

Pudsey businesses support In Bloom

2010-05-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Pudsey, like any other town is eager to promote local shopping, and many of the businesses in Pudsey have joined together in the last 12 months to work together and promote a `shop local` campaign. They, like Pudsey In Bloom, are keen to show people what Pudsey has to offer, the business group has recently sponsored some of the flower troughs in the town centre, a good way to try and get their message across......take a look at the website advertised and see for yourself what local shops we have.

Spring Judging

2010-05-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

This took place on Monday 19th April, and members of the group showed the two judges around our town, highlighting its strong points, meeting volunteers who help with the work and looking at the various projects we have undertaken so far. We will need to wait until the end of May for some feedback, but the afternoon went well.

Some areas we would like to improve!

2010-02-03T02:31:00.000-08:00

Our walk around Pudsey yesterday helped us to identify some small areas of land that really are looking neglected. Once we have the necessary permission to begin work on them, we will start making these look much more attractive!

Most of these areas have either been used as public thoroughfares, with people trampling over the grass and plants, others have just been neglected over the years with shrubs left unpruned.

And there are areas in the car park where attempts had been made to plant trees but unfortunately these have been vandalised, and are now just driven over!

We hope that by the end of the year Pudsey folk will begin to see a definite improvement.

New Year, first meeting...new projects!

2010-01-30T02:22:00.000-08:00

We had our first meeting of 2010 in January, and are once again all fired up to enter Pudsey into the Yorkshire In Bloom Competition...the year started well with a couple of new members and a boost to our bank balance, as towards the end of 2009 we were again successful in our applications for funding both from the Pudsey Borough Charity (£200) and the YEP cash in the community awards (£900)

This money has been `earmarked` for the development of some neglected areas around Pudsey, and this will be the main focus of this year`s activities.

This week we are meeting to identify some areas that we can work on, and then we will be able to plan what we would like to do.

See the next post for some pictures.

Oh..What a winter!!

2010-01-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

We have just had one of the worst winters (or start of winter!) since the 1960`s........a wander round Pudsey shows what the troughs looked like in December 2009...hope to have a more colourful contrast to take pictures of come Spring 2010!

Fame for the Tripe Baths

2009-12-15T05:37:00.000-08:00

Since our posting on the 12th December about the fate of the tripe baths, we have been contacted via email by an Italian group who run their own blog that is full of facts and stories all about tripe!
They were very interested in our story and have featured our story on their Italian site! Who would have thought that Pudsey`s fame would travel so far?
If you click on the link below it will take you direct to their tripe blog....you may need to use Google translator to translate some of it.
It just goes to show that everything is of interest to someone!

http://troppatrippa.blogspot.com/2009/12/salvate-le-vasche-del-trippaio.html

The fate of the tripe baths!

2009-12-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Many Pudsey folk may be completely unaware of the two old tripe baths that for years have been in situ in front of the leisure centre and lovingly planted up each year.

There is history attached to these baths as they once lived in a shop owned by Job Ross in Lowtown, he was the local tripe dresser and the tripe he would sell to his customers was washed in the baths. This was many years ago and after he passed on they were given a new home as flower pots...bizarre maybe, but some folk are very attached to them.

Now with the building of the new bus station, the baths had to come out and Pudsey In Bloom have been trying their best to avoid them being destroyed and are trying to find them a new home. A local building company, Farmac, have kindly offered to move them for us and store them until we can find them a new home.

Keep checking for updates on the tripe baths!!

Here`s a photo of them in their old home in front of the leisure centre:

And in a rather sorry state, amongst the rubble that will be Pudsey`s new bus station:

That`s another job done!

2009-10-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

All the barrier troughs were today planted up with a selection of primulas, violas and spring flowering bulbs. The displays should bring a bit of cheer to Pudsey over the coming months whilst it undergoes the disruption that will be caused by the building of a new bus station that has now started and is not expected to be completed until September 2010!

We also planted two japanese acer trees, one in each library bed, kindly donated by one of our members.

Our newly acquired folding wheelbarrow bought with group funds, colour coordinated as well!

Article in Pudsey Times about our Silver Award.

2009-10-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

An article has been posted in the Pudsey Times about our Silver Award in this year`s Yorkshire In bloom competition.
Read about it here:

http://www.pudseytoday.co.uk/news/Pudsey-celebrates-Yorkshire-in-Bloom.5704155.jp

Autumn Tidying.

2009-10-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of members met to tidy up the Lowtown beds; now that the benches are finally in place, the flowers and grasses needed cutting back, although some like the Stipa were left for their ornamental seed heads. Unfortunately, mainly due to the bin strikes, there was also quite a lot of litter around, so this was bagged up too!

We are hoping to take on board one of the comments from the Yorkshire In Bloom judges who suggested that we should plant up the borders with lavender to compliment the blue hydrangeas, so we are already propogating some cuttings, but we would be most grateful to anyone out there reading this blog who has any spare lavender plants they would like to donate to us.

We have also been busy preparing the barrier troughs for the winter planting, and today we made a start by emptying them of all the summer bedding which is now starting to die off.

Once we have bought the primulas and violas to supplement the bulbs that we managed to save from last years display, we will be meeting again to replant them.

Some updates as promised!

2009-09-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Whilst I have time, here are couple of updates I have been meaning to post from our summer activities:

Firstly, after awarding The Fleece Inn at Fartown as the winner of the "Pudsey Pubs In Bloom 2009 competition", the group were pleased to present the landlord with a winners trophy, this will be presented to the winner in each subsequent year, and very attractive it is too!

And also, remember the old benches that we replaced this year in our Lowtown seating area with the money we got from the the YPN community awards grants?.... well who would think that this was one of those benches? One of our members has revamped the old bench and we have now re-sited it on land near to Pudsey Parish Church, it looks like new!

More news later...................

Judges comments on Pudsey following our SILVER award.

2009-09-17T04:47:00.000-07:00

Category 2D Town

Pudsey Silver Rose Award
Spring: Silver Rose Award Summer: Silver Rose Award

Introduction (introductory remarks from the judges):

The determination and fighting spirit of the Pudsey in Bloom group is clearly evident through the town, the newly sponsored hanging baskets and barrier baskets have had a positive impact on the town. We were escorted around by a great team of enthusiastic volunteers who have the right sort of get up and go to help continually improve the town for years to come; showing that with a little determination lots can be achieved. The additional volunteers to the group and the work done to secure business support as well as good floral displays throughout the town make Pudsey a worthy entry into the competition.

SECTION A – Horticultural Achievement
Areas of Achievement: The newly designed and planted garden at the Baptist Church was very pleasant, colourful and well maintained. The hanging baskets throughout the town were good and in particular the displays around the sports centre. The uniqueness of the hanging basket brackets were a great innovation showing the business and community sponsors and supporters names. Pudsey Park formal gardens and summer bedding displays are a credit to the gardening staff on site, it was also refreshing to see that the two gardeners on site had designed and planted their own bed in their own unique styles. The new additional wooden planters are a welcome splash of colour in the town centre as well as the barrier planters to the front of the funeral directors.
Areas for Improvement: Rose beds within Sparrow Park were looking sparse and in need of updating, look into prairie planting if future funding is available, or look into replacing the roses with more formal planting as has been done in Pudsey Park. In the Lowtown seating area once the new benches have been installed, and if future funding allows it would be nice to see the edges of the paths planted with lavender or fragrant plants which will complement the beautiful purple and blue hydrangeas currently surrounding the area.

SECTION B – Environmental Responsibility
Areas of Achievement: Artwork to the side of the sports centre depicting local history and heritage of Pudsey, and the unusually planted up tripe bath in front of the centre. Pudsey Park bandstand was surrounded beautifully with stunning hanging baskets. The judges were impressed with the Lowtown school wildlife gardens and ‘bug hotel’ made up of things found and given by the parents, teachers and children themselves.
Areas for Improvement: Management of weed throughout the town, especially on areas not in council ownership needs to be pursued, it may be an idea to engage with the businesses that have sponsored and supported the hanging baskets to take more of an active role in caring for their environment.

SECTION C – Community Participation
Areas of Achievement: The uniqueness of the hanging basket brackets were a great innovation showing the business and community sponsors and supporters names. Barrier planters outside the post office bought and displayed through sponsorship monies from local business. The judges were again impressed with Lowtown schools enthusiasm, knowledge and understanding of their environment. The progress made and changes seen throughout the school gardens and grounds have been astounding and a credit to the pupils themselves, the judges were impressed with the corn and barley garden area complete with their very own scarecrows. Public house and restaurant competition. It was great to see and meet the newest members of the ‘in bloom’ group and it is a credit to the established group through raising their own profile at events and fundraising they have secured the help of more volunteers. Good partnership working with the Pudsey Civic Society, Rotary Club and, Town Centre Management which is a good foundation and support network for the ‘in bloom’ group. Ongoing projects and press file showing year round involvement and commitments.
Areas for Improvement:
Now that the group has been successful in its pub and restaurant competition it might be worthwhile, if time and commitment permits to work with local schools with gardening in mind, maybe ‘a wildlife garden in a pot’ theme, building on the successful poster competition.

....And for anyone who is interested in viewing comments for all the entries in the competition, you can read these by visiting http://www.yorkshireinbloom.co.uk/ and clicking on results on the left hand side of the page.

Latest News!

2009-09-16T02:06:00.000-07:00

Pudsey In Bloom have been having a well deserved rest during the summer and letting the flowers do their own thing, and they have been bloomimg very nicely indeed.

The latest news is that yesterday at the Yorkshire In Bloom Awards Ceremony in Bridlington, Pudsey was again awarded SILVER, this is fantastic news and shows that we are keeping up the high standards, we actually gained more points this year , just not quite enough to get us a Silver guilt, but the judges were very impressed when they visited and said that as we are such a small group we are doing great work, and we would especially like to thank all the local businesses who have supported us this year.......your support did not go unnoticed by the judges!

There are some more updates to post on the blog to bring it up to date and these will follow shortly. In the meantime, our next meeting will be on Thursday 1st October at 6.30pm at the Pudsey leisure centre, we would welcome some new members.

Summer Judging and Pubs Winner Revealed!

2009-07-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

The summer judging went off well, and we had a lovely sunny day to show the judges around our town. We also took the judges to present a prize to the winner of our first ever `Pudsey Pubs In Bloom` Competition. The winner this year was The Fleece at Fartown and prizes donated by the Pudsey Civic Society, which included a book on the history of Pudsey`s pubs, were presented to the landlord for having the tidiest gardens and the most colourful displays, making the pub a truly delightful place to visit. Others who entered were, the King`s Arms, the Stroom, the Fox and Grapes, and the Butcher`s Arms.
The picture has been publishe on the Pudsey Today website: http://www.pudseytoday.co.uk/news/Winner-of-Pudsey-in-Bloom.5455785.jp

More flowers for Pudsey!

2009-07-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

One of our members was offered some large wooden planters and these have been painted and filled with bedding, we have situated them around Pudsey, one by Sparrow`s Opticians, one in front of the Yorkshire bank, and one near the Greetings card shop. We also have a lrge barrel planter in front of Lloyd`s Pharmacy. We`re sure you`ll agree that they brighten up the area.

Helping the wider community.

2009-07-05T02:52:00.000-07:00

When we have time, our members also try to get involved with other projects that benefit the wider community of Pudsey, and recently we were asked by the Civic Society if we could spare a couple of hours to help clear some himalayan balsam that is growing rampant in Black Carr woods, we went along to help West Yorkshire joint services who are working on a project called `tracks in time`,which will put all of Leeds Victorian Tithe maps online. Trees will be planted in the area we cleared in Autumn.

Benches ordered and water kit installed on Town Hall.

2009-07-05T02:38:00.000-07:00

In December `08 the group were awarded a `grassroots grant` for £900, we had earmarked this money to buy a new bench for the garden in Lowtown, members of the group had replanted this last year and entered it in the Community and City Pride Awards and we were runners up. However, the area has always been spoiled by the old tatty benches that are there. This is what they look like at the moment:

And we have just ordered a new bench which will be arriving very soon, in fact we are getting 2 as the Pudsey Civic Society are also buying one. The benches are made from recycled plastic which should be low maintenance, environmentally friendly and an economical alternative to timber. We have also approached the Pudsey town centre manager who is checking if council funds are available to replace the dustbin with a permanent litter bin.

The rest of the grant money has been spent on installing an automatic water kit on the town hall, this is now almost complete and will save us lots of money on watering costs.

Sponsorship Increases!

2009-07-05T02:09:00.000-07:00

We were approached by a number of local busineses who want to support Pudsey In Bloom by advertising on our barrier troughs and flower tubs. This not only gets their name across to Pudsey folk but will also bring in valuable funds to enable us to further improve the town. look out for the signs when you are in Pudsey. We will also use the signs to thank other groups who support our work, like the Civic Society and Pudsey llotments, to name a couple.

Also look out for the BIG increase in hanging baskets around the town centre this summer, our efforts earlier in the year to encourage more businesses to take an interest in making the town more attractive has certainley paid off!

Calling all Pubs and Restaurants!

2009-05-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Pudsey In Bloom is launching a competition for Pubs and restaurants in Pudsey, shortly one of our members will be distributing letters inviting anyone who is interested to enter the competition. Members of the group will judge the entries for their summer floral displays on Monday 6th July, and the winner will be visited by the `Yorkshire In bloom` judges on the 10th July. We will also try to get them as much publicity as we can and give them an advertisement on one of the flower troughs in the town centre.

Pudsey park does us proud!

2009-05-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

We had this photo published in the Pudsey Times today, showing some of the members with a couple of the Park gardeners. The park has looked really stunning this spring and is a credit to the town.

Spring Judging Feedback

2009-05-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Feedback from the spring judging are now available at http://www.yorkshireinbloom.co.uk/downloads/Spring%20Comments%202009.doc.

The judges were obviously very impressed with our work with the community and the effort every member contributes.

Fun at the Carnival

2009-05-17T00:38:00.000-07:00

We had lots of interest in our stall at this years Pudsey Carnival, and thankfully the weather held out, although this year we were in the Civic Society Marquis, and this gave us protection from the odd heavy showers! We sold lots of plants including houseplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and chilis, many grown by members of the group and some donated from the public.

We were also visited by the local councillors and by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. The Lord Mayor is himself a former chairman of `Yorkshire In Bloom` and a long standing judge, and strongly supports work done by `in Bloom` groups.

Pudsey Carnival

2009-05-07T02:24:00.000-07:00

Don`t forget to visit us if you can at the Pudsey Carnival on Saturday 16th May. You will have the chance to chat with us about our work, and we will have plants for sale, and all proceeds will be put towards making Pudsey even more colourful and attractive, money well spent!

Next Round of Judging!

2009-04-30T05:33:00.000-07:00

The date for the summer judging for `Yorkshire In Bloom` will be Friday 10th July. We have plenty to organise before then including lots of summer displays.

Article on Pudsey Today website

2009-04-29T03:46:00.000-07:00

You can read about the spring judging in an article on the Pudsey Today website at:
http://www.pudseytoday.co.uk/news/Pudsey-in-Bloom-says-thanks.5212411.jp
The same article is also printed in the newspaper, but unfortunately they have reproduced the photo at a very poor resolution!

More local business support!

2009-04-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy receiving orders from many of the local businesses wanting hanging baskets for the summer. This support is fantastic, it can only help to strengthen the work we do to make Pudsey an attractive place. We have received lots of comments about how colourful the spring displays are. The post office also wants to show their support and this summer we hope to have 3 more barrier troughs on the steps up to the post office. We have been able to place an order for an additional 15 or so hanging baskets. As an incentive, the group have offered to pay for a bracket installing on any premise that wants to support us. So far to name a few, we have enlisted: Wetherby Whaler, HQ Dentals, Old Booths Tea Rooms, The Light Bite, Lidget Hill DIY Store and Hanson Travel. Many thanks to everyone for their support.!Community Involvement is a major contribution to gaining an award in the `Yorkshire In bloom` competition!

Spring Judging 3rd April 2009

2009-04-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate to have a sunny day, although a bit chilly. Members of the group met with the judges and took them on a tour of Pudsey`s highlights. We were met by Councillor Jarosz who welcomed the judges:

Councillor Jarosz escorted us to our first port of call, Claremont Housing Complex, where we met with Dennis Pontefract who works tirelessly to keep the grounds tidy, recently the children of Swinnow Primary school volunteered to plant lots more daffodils in the grounds, these were in full bloom.

We went on to visit Pudsey lowtown School. the Crimbles Allotments, Robin Chase, Spinners Chase, Pudsey centre and the park, and ended up back at the library for a welcome cuppa!

Display at Pudsey Flower Show

2009-03-28T06:09:00.000-07:00

Today the group had a display board at the annual Pudsey Spring Flower Show that was held at the United Reform Church on School Street.

Lots of people stopped to look at our pictures and read about our projects; we gave out quite a few leaflets about Pudsey In Bloom and and we are hopeful of recruiting some more members.

Many people commented on how bright and colourful Pudsey was looking, and how they had noticed some of our group out and about planting.

Meetings

2009-03-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

We have had two meetings in March. We have finalised our route for the spring judging; this year we are including the Claremont Grove sheltered housing complex. The elderly people who live there work very hard to keep their gardens and grounds looking good, and this year they have had some extra help from children at Swinnow school who have planted lots of daffodils for them, the daffodils were donated by Groundwork Leeds.

We are also making plans to spend the £900 we were awarded last year from the YEP Cash In the Community, we now have permission to install the automatic watering kit on the Town Hall, this will be in place for our summer displays and greatly reduce our watering bills!

We are also very pleased that there is a lot of interest being shown by the businesses in Pudsey to have displays this summer, we have been approached by HSBC bank, Hanson World Choice, the Post Office and Lidget Hill Hardware store who all want to be a part of Pudsey In Blooms attempts to make the town a more attractive place.

Spring Judging Announced!

2009-03-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

We have found out that the first round of our judging for the Yorkshire In Bloom Competition will take place on Friday 3rd April. We are busy getting posters ready to distribute ready for judging day.

1st March - A lovely Spring day

2009-03-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

We have been out and about continuing the tidying up of the barrier troughs today, luckily the sun was shining!

Remember the tired old library beds that we planted up in December, well here is a picture of how they looked today, come summer they should be full of colour!

DECEMBER 2008 MARCH 2009

Getting Businesses on board!

2009-02-27T02:55:00.000-08:00

A new Pudsey Business forum has been formed and as one of our members has a business in Pudsey, we are hoping to be able to spread the word about Pudsey In Bloom and encourage the businesses to come on board. Already people are showing an interest in putting up displays and helping to display our posters. This will be a great boost to Pudsey`s entry in the Yorkshire In Bloom competition, as one area that judges always comment on is how many businesses give their support to their local In Bloom initiatives.

The Total garage on Lowtown have already said they are interested in improving the land around the garage, and we have dug up a small area and planted it up. It`s hard work as sometimes the ground is very hard, but well worth the effort! This is one of the areas that the judges said we should work on.

Spring is springing!

2009-02-27T02:40:00.000-08:00

Despite the ongoing roadworks in Pudsey, spring is certainly on its way! The barrier troughs bring a welcome splash of colour at this time of year. Bulbs are also emerging in the grassy areas which the group planted last November.

We have been busy doing our "spring cleaning", tidying up the troughs and flower beds after the winter. How lovely it is to see the flowers again!

Community and City Pride Awards

2009-01-31T01:03:00.000-08:00

At an awards ceremony last night, Pudsey In Bloom received the runner up prize in the Community And City Pride Awards for the seating area on Lowtown.
The awards are run by Leeds City Council to recognise projects that make the city cleaner and greener. The ceremony was at Leeds Civic Hall and prizes were handed out by Look North weatherman Paul Hudson.
We were in the Green Space Creation category; first prize went to Bruntcliffe school.

BEFORE

AFTER

Article in Pudsey Times

2009-01-28T04:16:00.000-08:00

This week there is an article in the Pudsey times, mainly to thank the Borough of Pudsey Charity for the money they donated that helped to purchase plants for the newly refurbished flower beds next to the library.

You can read the article by following this link:
http://www.pudseytoday.co.uk/news/Pudsey-in-Bloom-brighten-up.4904355.jp

First Meeting of 2009

2009-01-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

The group had their first meeting of the year on 8th January, and decided that despite any impending disruption that will inevitably be caused by the building of the new bus station, we should once again enter the Yorkshire In Bloom competition. Our next meeting has been planned for Thursday 5th February at Pudsey leisure centre starting at 6.30pm.

Library beds finally planted!

2009-01-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

One of our main projects has been to replant the two flower beds that are next to the library, you can see by the pictures below how bad they were looking!

The council agreed to rebuild the beds and then in November `08 they filled them with soil, we then replanted them with a variety of winter -flowering shrubs, ferns, grasses, perennials and also planted some daffodils. It was a difficult area to plant as there is not much depth to the beds and also there is poor drainage and lots of shade. We are confident that the planting scheme we have chosen should ensure a vibrant colour scheme of purples, bronze, orange, yellow and white. There are evergreen plants, and some scented plants too. This summer it will be a much pleasanter place to sit and read!

Grants the group have received.

2009-01-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

We received £300 from the Borough of Pudsey Charity in November `08 and we plan to put this money towards plants for the beds in the library square just as soon as the newly rebuilt beds are filled up with soil.

On the 12th December `08 two of our members attended an award ceremony at St. George`s crypt in Leeds, as we had been shortlisted to receive a grant from the YEP Community cash Giveaway, the awards were announced by Hilary Benn and we were thrilled to hear that Pudsey In Bloom had been given £900! We plan to spend this on an automated watering kit for the Pudsey Town hall, which will greatly reduce our annual watering bills, and also to replace some of the dilapidated benching near the permanent planting areas we have been working on.

We have also found out that Pudsey In Bloom have made the shortlist in the Community and City Pride Awards for the seating area we planted up on Lowtown, we will know the result of this after the award ceremony that takes place on 30th January at the Leeds Civic Hall, so fingers crossed we will be successful!

Mammoth Bulb planting day!

2009-01-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

On Sunday 9th November 2008 we embarked on our mammoth planting of lots of daffodil bulbs that had been donated by Groundwork Leeds. We were very pleased that some new volunteers turned up to help, it was a cold day, but we got wrapped up and got on with the job in hand.

Daffodils were planted in the grass on Church Lane and near the Total Garage on Lowtown, as well as in the containers.

Hopefully we will be rewarded with a colourful Spring display!

Preparing for Spring Displays 2009

2009-01-09T04:37:00.000-08:00

Throughout October and November 2008, the group were busy planting bulbs and spring bedding to ensure that there will be a colourful display in 2009. We are trying different planting schemes with the 21 barrier troughs we have in Pudsey centre. 14 of these had traditional summer bedding in them in Summer 2008 and really looked splendid, we received lots of comments about how colourful they were, this year for the first time, we bought and planted up all the troughs ourselves, we chose a colourful array of petunias, geraniums,fuschias and gazanias. It wa hard work, especially as it wasn`t a very good day for planting! But those involved all agreed it was well worth it, and we plan to do the same again next year.

In November, we again turned out on another cold and wet day to empty the summer bedding that was now getting past its best and plant up the troughs with spring bedding, most of which we had been saving throughout the summer from last years displays, otherwise the plants would just have been discarded by the council! This again saved us lots of money. In addition to the spring bedding we also planted a mixture of bulbs including: tete a tete,red robin tulips, and crocus.

In the other 7 troughs which had been planted up with drought resistant plants throughout the summer, the job was a little easier as we did not have to remove and replant, we just added a good mixture of bulbs to each of the troughs, including: alliums, (allium azureum), crocus (Barr`s Purple and snowbunting) These troughs have given a very different look throughout the summer and provide a good contrast to the other troughs. We feel we are catering for everyones tastes and at the same time doing our bit to find a greener way of planting up the containers. It will be interesting to see how these troughs develop this year:

Summer Judging comments- and a SILVER Award!!

2009-01-09T02:24:00.000-08:00

In September the group finally received the long awaited feedback from our Summer Judging. We were amazed and highly delighted with the news of a SILVER Award - it seemed that all the hard work had paid off, now we have a high standard to try and maintain!

I have listed the judges comments here but you can view all the comments from all the entries at the Yorkshire In Bloom website-
http://www.yorkshireinbloom.co.uk/default.aspx

PUDSEY are certainly progressing and things have moved on since the Spring Judging with the adoption and replanting of old rose beds and the trial of drought tolerant barrier baskets. If the business sector can be engaged, Pudsey will 'bloom' even more.

SECTION A – FLORAL DISPLAYS

The judges were particularly impressed by:
1. The hanging baskets and beds in front of the Leisure Centre.
3. The summer displays by residents on The Chase.
4. Creation of the 'sea monster' and other plants by the children
of the local school.

Areas suggested for future development:
1. Involvement of business sector to provide floral displays.
1. Improved maintenance to bedding areas in Pudsey Park.
4. More involvement from youth organizations.

SECTION B – PERMANENT LANDSCAPING, INCLUDING
SHRUBS

The judges were particularly impressed by:
1. The trial of perennial plants (drought resistant) in barrier baskets.
1. The upkeep of Crimbles Allotment site.
2. The adoption of two old rose beds and their subsequent
planting by the group with perennials.

Areas suggested for future development:
1. Coordinated mowing of Pudsey Park to ensure follow up work
is in keeping with general grass areas.
2. Speak with 'Total Garage' to see if anything can be done with shrub bed.
4. Continued adoption by group of older shrub/rose beds etc.

SECTION C – LOCAL AGENDA 21 AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The judges were particularly impressed by:
1. Work within the school by children/volunteers on the wild area
and involvement with recycling and composting.

Areas suggested for future development:
1. Future planting/management of the pond area at Spinner
Chase.
2. Possible extension of mulching to more beds.

SECTION D – LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

The judges were particularly impressed by:
1. The general cleanliness of the streets.

Areas suggested for future development:
1. Renovate the two benches at 'Low Town' recently newly
adopted area.
2. A few sites noted which required graffiti removal.

SECTION E – PUBLIC AWARENESS/PUBLICITY

The judges were particularly impressed by:
1. The involvement of the judges to award prizes to the winners
of various children's competitions.
2. The posters displayed by houses on Robin and Spinners Chase.

Areas suggested for future development:
1. Further publicity/press releases regarding the 'in bloom'
group's work.
2. Future commercial sponsorship of areas etc.

Everyone agreed these comments are a very positive start, and certainly gives us something to build on. WELL DONE to everyone, group members and invaluable volunteers who help with planting projects.

Happy New Year, the planning begins again!

2009-01-09T01:24:00.000-08:00

2009 may prove a difficult year for Pudsey In Bloom! We are anticipating a fair amount of disruption when the building of the town centre bus station commences in April. However at our first meeting of the year on Thursday 8th January, we decided that we should not be `put off` by impending disruption and just `go for it`! To that end, we have now started preparations for entering into this years round of judging for the `Yorkshire In Bloom` competition.
Much has been achieved since our last meeting in June 2008, and here I plan to outline all of the group`s activities since then, starting when three of our members were invited to help judge gardens that had been entered in the `Leeds In Bloom` competition. It was a fun, if quite tiring day, and the standard of the gardens was very high. Below are just a few examples of some of the winners.