Melton in Bloom, with Marie Walters

Scoring an impressive 60 marks out of a possible 100, this covers three categories – Community participation, Environmental responsibility and Gardening achievement. Pictured is Shout 4 Residents Chairman John Bellamy with the RHS certificate, signed by their President Sir Nicholas Bacon.

Assessor Peter Benham was impressed with the number of bee and butterfly-friendly plants in the garden, and suggested adding a bug hotel, log pile, bird box and feeder, to attract even more wildlife. It’s something that any of us can do in our own gardens, which doesn’t take up too much space and is relatively inexpensive.

We’re very pleased that John asked us to be involved by helping with gardening advice and thrilled to see such wonderful progress with the project.

Although the garden is winding down for the winter, our photo shows an all-important layer of bark mulch has been laid, which not only helps to conserve moisture within the soil, but also keeps down weeds, (which would of course keep growing during any mild spells) thereby reducing maintenance and keeping the garden looking neat and tidy.

There are still a number of outstanding jobs, such as pruning and more planting, but all in all an excellent effort by everyone involved.

John would like to thank Jeld-Wen for creating a beautiful pergola and seating arrangement, which commemorates Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday, together with a new raised bed; and Melton Building Society for their sponsorship. Thanks also to the continued support of Shout 4 Residents members, Melton Borough Council and anyone else involved in the project.

We very much hope that more community groups will take up the initiative to enter ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ in 2017 and we will be more than happy to help with any information or gardening advice if needed.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us. Happy gardening!