A blooming good borough - Solihull's time to shine!

Most people who live in the borough will have heard of Solihull in Bloom, but not so many may realise that it's about more than just planting a few bulbs and hanging baskets.

Solihull in Bloom is all about having pride in where we live and keeping our borough clean and green too.

And we don't accomplish this on our own. People like you, community groups, and local businesses, all pitch in to get Solihull looking its best.

This year, we will be entering the regional Heart of England in Bloom competition as we do every year but will also be representing the region in the National Britain in Bloom competition, run by the Royal Horticultural Society.

The competition judges the way that we look after our local environment such as taking care of parks, pavements and roads, keeping streets clean and our waste and recycling services.

We have successfully entered the competition for over ten years thanks to your help and support from local businesses and schools too.

For example:

• Residents, schools, businesses, hotels/restaurants and community groups can gain recognition for their hanging baskets, gardens and floral displays by entering our local garden floral competition which is sponsored by Notcutts Garden Centre and the Solihull Times.
• The Solihull Soroptomists, a group of local ladies, have adopted Widney Manor station to plant up, water and maintain floral features.
• The Birmingham Midweek Volunteer Group helped us to improve an overgrown route popular with walkers and cyclists in Ravenshaw.

With kind donations via sponsorship, expertise and support from the community, Solihull blooms every year.

This year, the theme is "Local Roots", which aims to encourage us to think about local history and cultural diversity within the community. What makes our community unique? We have created a one world traffic island planted up with tropical and exotic plants in Dickens Heath. We're also transforming a Mell Square bed into a discovery zone of plants first discovered by E H Wilson between 1876-1930 and who lived in Solihull, and we have run a competition with school children to design a "local roots" carpet bed for our display in Malvern Park.

Important dates:

12 April - 4^th May - Unannounced National (RHS) Judging

17^th July - regional judging - Heart of England in Bloom

7^th August - national judging - Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

24^th Sept - RHS Britain in Bloom Result

If you want to find out more about Solihull in Bloom and how you can get involved, call Becki Wood on 0121 704 6546 or email her on: bwood@solihull.gov.uk