Over the years, one of the ways we’ve been able to let people know what we are doing, is through a regular article in the Tetbury Advertiser - a free monthly magazine (excluding August & January) published by The Lions Club of Tetbury.
For 12 years Liz Farnham, now a former member of Tetbury in Bloom, wrote every one of the articles, but in December 2018 she, and her husband Kevin, who also designed and created this website, decided to retire from the organisation.
However, both the articles and website still continue, now written and updated by Sue Hirst, Tetbury in Bloom’s team leader.
Hover over the ‘Newsletters’ button on the left to find previous years’ articles.
December 2024
The run-up to December and the festive period seems to have been a bit of a rush this year, with us finishing off planting all the bulbs in the beds around the town, and then dressing the Christmas trees for the shop premises in time for the Switch On event. However, it’s at this time of year when we like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us over the past twelve months:
As always, our grateful thanks and appreciation go to Tetbury Town Council, not only for their financial support but also for the much-needed practical assistance they give us.
Our grateful appreciation and thanks also go to the Feoffees of Tetbury, St Marys’ Parochial Church Council and Tetbury Upton Parish Council, for their generous grants.
Our own funding-raising initiatives this year were the supply of summer hanging baskets and the Christmas trees that go on the town-centre shop premises. We are extremely grateful to all those residents and traders who supported us by buying one or more of them.
We also wish to thank all those people who gave up their time to help us keep the beds and displays watered throughout the town during the summer months and a special thank you to Sian and Madeleine who helped us plant the beds and displays with summer bedding in June. Lastly, a big thank you goes to Kevin and Bill who help us each year to dress (and undress!) the Christmas trees that adorn the shop premises.
All the support we receive is very much appreciated, and without this help whether it’s financial or practical, we wouldn’t be able to do anywhere near as much as we manage to do to keep Tetbury looking as attractive as it does, for the benefit of us all.
The next Tetbury Advertiser will be delivered at the beginning of February and by then the spring flowering season will have started with the appearance of hellebores, snowdrops, cyclamen, anemones and early flowering crocuses.
In the meantime though, from everyone on the Tetbury in Bloom team, we wish you a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.
Cyclamen and snowdrops in St Marys’ churchyard
November 2024
Over the past month we have been very busy. Apart from stripping out the summer bedding, cutting down the perennials and generally tidying all the beds and floral displays ready for the winter months ahead, we have again added more than two thousand spring flowering bulbs across most of the towns’ beds, together with more permanent planting.
We have also replanted the tubs that are located adjacent to the Old Brewery Lane carpark. Following the Box trees having succumbed to Box caterpillar and spring scorch earlier in the year, we have now replaced them with ‘Ilex Crenata Caroline’ cones. These look and grow very similar to Box but without the inherent attraction of the Box moth or other potential problems such as Box Blight, which can both have a devastating effect.
With November arriving, Christmas is looming very fast and on Monday 25th, we will once again be found under the Market Hall dressing the Christmas trees that adorn the shop premises, ready for the Lions Switch On event which is taking place on Friday 29th November.
Tulips in the beds at the entrance to St Marys’ Church
October 2024
We feel that the beds and floral displays turned out really well this year. Although the weather wasn’t as warm and sunny as most of us would have liked: being cooler and wetter had the advantage of us not having to water the beds so much albeit, the tubs and troughs still needed watering on a regular basis.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those residents (you know who you are!), who took on the regular responsibility of watering some of the locations we tend i.e. the planter on Millennium Green, the tubs on the Chipping Steps, the troughs at St Saviour’s church and the beds at Braybrooke Close and The Anniversary Garden. We also wish to thank Sian and Madeleine, very much indeed, for helping us to plant the summer bedding during June. Everyone’s help has been invaluable as it allowed us to focus more on all the other beds and displays that we have responsibility for throughout the town.
Now October has arrived, our minds are turning towards the jobs we need to do at this time of year: stripping beds of summer bedding plants, trimming the dead and dying growth from perennials, and of course planting additional bulbs for the 2025 spring displays.
This month, it is more than likely that the hanging baskets we supplied to residents and traders in June, will be getting past their best. I’ll soon be contacting everyone who supported us, to arrange collection of the empty containers when ready. There is no rush, just as and when you have finished with them. We will then be able to wash and disinfect the containers ready for use again next year. If yours have already finished, and are ready for collection now, please email me on sue@tetburyinbloom.org.uk so we can arrange a suitable time to pick them up (or for you to deliver back to me, if you live outside Tetbury.) Very many thanks.
The formal Box Ball bed in Anniversary Garden
September 2024
If during the past few months you have driven through Tetbury, been shopping in the town centre, walked through St Marys’ churchyard, Anniversary Gardens or other locations, enjoying all the beds and floral displays, and wondered who is responsible for creating and maintaining most of it, the answer is… a very small number of committed volunteers who make up the ‘Tetbury in Bloom’ team.
However, we are very much struggling with numbers to allow us to continue the work we have been doing since March 2005. For all that time our aim has been to make Tetbury look one of the best cared for and attractive small towns in the South Cotswolds, we urgently need to increase our numbers! Ideally, we are looking for people who enjoy gardening and exercise and are prepared to give a couple of hours each Tuesday and / or Thursday morning, to help us to deadhead, weed, plant and carry out general gardening chores.
If you think you could help us, please consider joining our ‘work force’ as a regular volunteer. You would become part of a much-appreciated hardworking team, doing something very worthwhile for the town as a whole, benefitting absolutely everyone: residents, traders and visitors alike.
For further details please contact me at sue@tetburyinbloom.org.uk , or for an insight into what we do around the town, please visit our website at www.tetburyinbloom.org.uk
The bed at mouth of Priory Industrial Estate, London Road
August 2024
There is no August edition of the Tetbury Advertiser this month
July 2024
Now we’re into July our work schedule can go back to a far more manageable level!
June was extremely hectic for us and it’s hard to believe how much we achieved: We supplied and delivered over one hundred hanging baskets to Tetbury residents and traders, and having started the month by planting the beds at London Road and the entrance to Priory Industrial Estate, we then went on to plant up the following: The troughs in the Market Place and those by the steps of the Market Hall; those in the Chipping car park area, the Chipping Steps and the Millennium trough; the bed and small trough on The Knapp; the troughs at the entrance to St Saviour’s church; most of the beds and troughs in St Marys’ churchyard; the beds at West Street toilets and the tubs adjacent to the carpark in Old Brewery Lane and by the Visitor Information Centre. Lastly a small amount of summer planting was added to Anniversary Garden. This was all in addition to us keeping the other beds, which weren’t receiving extra summer bedding, looking as good as possible. i.e. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial bed on The Green; the bed adjacent to the hospital; the roundabout on London Road; Braybrooke Close; the fire station; library and the Twizzle bed, which runs alongside the footpath between the library and Long Street. Getting all this done was no mean feat I can assure you, especially as we are still very much in need of more volunteers to join us to continue our aim of making the town look attractive and well cared for.
From now until autumn, we will follow a three-week maintenance rota, and hopefully we’ll get good weather over the summer months which will allow everything to thrive without us having to do too much additional watering!
There is no Tetbury Advertiser in August so by the time I write again in the September edition, the summer season will have sadly started coming to an end, and we’ll be casting our minds again to next year’s spring displays and the planting of several hundred more bulbs!
The formal beds in St Marys’ Churchyard
June 2024
June is our busiest time of the year. Over the next four weeks we will be working Tuesdays and Thursdays to prepare and tidy the beds, tubs and troughs in the morning, for us to plant them up in the evenings, ready for the summer displays to come.
In autumn 2022, following the hot dry summer we had that year, we introduced a lot more perennial plants to several of the beds with the intention of reducing the amount of bedding-plants needed overall, and in turn, the subsequent watering required to get them all established and growing. For those locations that will still have summer bedding-plants added, we’ll be using vibrant colourful geraniums again which should tolerate drought conditions far better than many other bedding plants available.
In addition to preparing and planting the beds, tubs and troughs, we will also be delivering over 100 hanging baskets to residents and traders who have kindly supported us by buying them as part of our main fund-raising initiative. The profit raised goes directly into the ‘Tetbury in Bloom’ funds, which allows us to continue making the town look as attractive as possible.
Our grateful thanks as always, go to Paul Grimes of Wotton Farm Shop who has been supplying our summer bedding plants and hanging baskets for well over ten years now. His input has become integral to our annual basket and planting operation. He not only produces them all for us, but delivers to us on each of the evenings, all those that we need for the specific locations we are working at. Without his help and assistance, we would find this annual task almost impossible to achieve and as such we truly appreciate his invaluable support.
The beds at London Road
May 2024
With May arriving, the spring displays are now almost at an end and although we will deadhead the daffodils and tulips as part of maintaining the beds and keeping them looking tidy, we’ll be leaving the foliage to die down naturally so it gives the bulbs the best chance to reabsorb the nutrients from the leaves to allow them to flower successfully again next year.
Over the past few weeks, we have studied all the beds that we tend and have taken note of where we can enhance the displays for spring 2025. The lovely mauve daisy-looking flowers - Anemone Blanda, which we planted last autumn in the bed at Braybrooke Close, did exceptionally well and flowered non-stop for several weeks, despite all the rain! So, we’ll be planting a lot more of those in other beds too come September/October, and next spring they will provide additional colour after the crocus have finished.
We’ll also be planting additional tulip bulbs in several of the beds. When in bloom, they give a vibrant colourful display and some of the red varieties we use overlap the later flowering daffodils which give a lovely contrast. However, over the years, tulip bulbs tend to ‘disappear’ for various reasons, so to keep the displays looking full, we find it best to add more to the beds every other year in rotation.
Although the beds, tubs and troughs are going to look untidy over the month of May due to us leaving the dead and dying bulb foliage to die back, come Tuesday 4th June, normal standards will resume when we start a four-week work schedule to prepare and plant up the beds and troughs throughout the town, ready for the summer months to come.
The bed at Braybrooke Close
April 2024
The wet weather over the past few weeks certainly curtailed the number of mornings we were able to go out and work, but that said, we have managed to keep on top of most of the jobs we have needed to do. The spring displays so far have lasted extremely well and the ‘avenue’ of over 1000 Tete a Tete bulbs that we planted either side of the main path of St Marys’ Church three years ago, has shown itself to have been well worth the effort! The perennials and shrubs that we use in all the beds have now started to show signs of regrowth and they in themselves, together with hundreds of tulips which will come into bloom over the next few weeks, will bring extra colour and structure to all the beds. This will be the finale of the spring displays before we turn our minds to the summer-planting in June. I really can’t believe how quickly the months are going by!
The Tetbury in Bloom hanging baskets that we supply to residents and traders have now gone to the nursery to be planted up. Providing we don’t experience unseasonably cold weather during April and May, they should be on target to be ready for delivery in June. We still have a small number of baskets available to sell, so if you wish to place an order, please see our adjacent advert for details and then contact me on sue@tetburyinbloom.org.uk . You need to do so as soon as possible though before we sell out completely!
The main path of St Marys’ church flanked by over 1000 Tete a Tete bulbs
March 2024
This time next year, the current Tetbury in Bloom organisation will be celebrating its 20th anniversary!!
Everyone involved with Tetbury in Bloom over the years has always worked extremely hard to achieve the aim of making Tetbury look attractive and well cared for. In the early years between 2005 and 2011, we competed in the regional and national Britain in Bloom competitions and were very successful in achieving six gold awards and were judged the Overall Winner in the 2010 regional campaign. In 2013 the large roundabout on London Road received national acclaim by being featured in a two-page spread in the gardening section of the Saturday Telegraph and our planting style, using shrubs, was featured in the BBC’s television series: ‘The Great British Garden Revival.
Although we no longer choose to compete, we are still committed to working each Tuesday and Thursday morning, all year round, to keep the beds and floral displays that we are responsible for, looking their best. Our busiest time of year is the month of June when we work both mornings and evenings to prepare and plant up the beds and floral displays for summer. Also in June, we supply our hanging baskets. This is our main fund-raising initiative, with all profits going directly towards the work we do. If you would like to support us by purchasing one or more of them, please see our adjacent advert and let me know your requirement as soon as possible. The 14” baskets comprise easy-care trailing begonias in pink, red and apricot shades OR you can choose trailing geraniums in a mixture of vibrant colours. For those living in Tetbury, they will be delivered to your door by arrangement during the first two weeks in June. To place an order, simply get in touch with me as soon as possible by emailing: sue@tetburyinbloom.org.uk . They are already selling fast - so don’t delay!
Tetbury in Bloom hanging baskets supplied to traders and residents each year
February 2024
Despite the inclement weather we’ve experienced over recent weeks, we have still managed to get out and enjoy some much-needed gardening exercise: weeding and raking up the last of the leaves! The nights are now noticeably drawing out and already the bulbs are coming through. Very soon the snowdrops, crocus and early flowering daffodils will be in full bloom. Over the next few weeks, the spring displays will be ever-changing and will culminate in April-May when hundreds of brightly coloured tulips will fill all the beds that we tend.
Plans are already in place for summer and once again we will be supplying our hanging baskets. If you would like to support us by purchasing one or more of them, please see our adjacent advert and let me know your requirement as soon as possible. The 14” baskets comprise easy-care trailing begonias in pink, red and apricot shades OR you can choose trailing geraniums in a mixture of vibrant colours. For those living in Tetbury, they will be delivered to your door by arrangement during the first two weeks in June. This is our main fund-raising initiative and all profits raised will go towards funding the work that we do. If you purchased our hanging baskets last summer and we haven’t yet had your empty containers back, we’d really appreciate their return now as soon as possible please. We need to wash the containers this month ready for them to go to the nursery for replanting. Please email me on sue@tetburyinbloom.org.uk to arrange collection.
In the meantime, weather permitting during these early months, the Tetbury in Bloom team will continue to be out every Tuesday and Thursday morning to keep the flower displays looking their best. We really do enjoy what we do and gain much satisfaction from knowing that the displays we create and the difference we make, brings such a lot of enjoyment to so many people. If you think you would like to join the team on a regular weekly basis, please contact me using the details shown above for more information.
The smaller London Road bed in spring
January 2024
There is no January edition of the Tetbury Advertiser