And here they are!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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.