Five winners from Northumberland celebrate success at annual Northumbria in Bloom awards

The competition, now in its 62nd year, is all about encouraging local communities to improve their area through community gardening and sound environmental practises.

The prize for best overall entry and winner of the Percy Boydell Award went to Washington Village.

Berwick took the honours in the best town centre retail area category.

Judges said: “The floral displays in Berwick, in a large variety of containers, are very high impact, bright, colourful, densely planted, innovative and well maintained. Many of these displays contain edibles and the use of trees in the larger planters gives height and scale. All the compost used is peat free, and volunteers, including people with learning disabilities, and businesses contribute time and resources. The street scene is clean and tidy.”

In the schools section, Swansfield Primary School in Alnwick was joint winner alongside Durham Gilesgate Primary School, Belmont.

Judges said of Swansfield: “A school which encourages its pupils to understand nature through its child-centred learning processes, with lots of opportunities for the pupils, from its forest school, allotments, class planters, pond and other horticultural areas surrounding the school.

“One of the stand-out elements was the naming of each class after the mature trees on site, with the children finding the tree on moving up, giving the permanent planting a meaning and the children a life skill.”

Best residential community went to Robert Adam Court in Alnwick.

Judges said: “The garden at Robert Adam Court combines contractor maintenance with impressive resident effort to create a welcoming environment which encourages socialising. Together, these dedicated joint efforts create a thriving, peaceful green sanctuary that significantly enhances daily life for the entire community.”

Best pub went to Ord House at East Ord, Berwick.

Judges commented: “The Bar & Grill is a beautiful old building which benefits from the addition of numerous window boxes, baskets and pots which have been very well coordinated and add welcome colour . There are well established climbing roses on the facade and further borders of annuals surrounding the well maintained lawns. There is a further planting of shrubs and perennials, in front of the more modern extension to the building, which is also well designed and thoughtfully planted which also includes pollinator friendly plants. The maintenance is excellent with everything looking neat and tidy.”

Best conservation project was awarded jointly to Valley Park in Cramlington and Belmont Scrambles.

Judges said of Valley Park: “A wonderful example of what can be achieved by a well organised local group working together, and with nature, to provide a tranquil woodland area despite being located next to a busy main road. Changing nature trails, current notice boards and social media keep everyone informed and involved. The calm, welcoming environment where nature comes first is appreciated by all and is a credit to this group.”

Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside won the ‘Best Business and Out of Town Retail Park’ category.

The awards are part of the UK wide Britain in Bloom campaign run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

Robert Germany, chairman of Northumbria in Bloom said: “When people think of Northumbria in Bloom they often assume that it’s all about hanging baskets and the municipal flower displays on roundabouts.

“However, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. This means that ‘in bloom’ communities tackle everything from litter, graffiti and mitigating anti-social behaviour through to conservation, biodiversity and improving horticultural standards, and that’s not to mention the positive impact on health and wellbeing, sense of place, community spirit and civic pride.

“Many of our groups are also using Bloom to help to mitigate some of the effects of climate change through planet friendly gardening. It is wonderful to see all the excellent work that communities are doing to protect and enhance their local environments.

“These awards are all about recognising and celebrating this work and all that our communities have collectively achieved in enhancing the overall environment of the North East in 2026.”