This year I have been privileged to be one of the official photographers for Bury in Bloom, an independent charity whose aim is to promote a green and beautiful Bury St Edmunds. I am thoroughly enjoying being part of such a dedicated group of people, many of whom are volunteers who work alongside representatives from the local authority, business and education sectors, and I am thrilled that my photographs are able to contribute to such an inspiring local cause.
I was pleased to be asked to photograph this year’s Anglia in Bloom judging. This annual competition sees judges award honours in a range of categories, touring floral towns and villages across East Anglia to find the best the region has to offer. This year they picked a scorching July day to come to Bury St Edmunds and look at all the initiatives that the town has undertaken. These range from over 500 hanging baskets through to residential gardening and community projects. By the end of the day, the judges were wilting along with the tour guides and the photographer so large glasses of wine went down a treat at the hospitality event provided by Greene King, one of the Bury in Bloom sponsors. Sadly as I was still at ‘work’ taking photographs of the guests and sponsors I had to make do with an orange juice and lemonade. Such is life.
All the hard work by the town paid off as Bury St Edmunds was awarded three gold awards at the award-giving ceremony in September. These were given for two of its parks – Nowton Park and the Abbey Gardens – in the competition’s ‘large parks’ category and for Bury St Edmunds as a whole in the ‘large town’ category. Really well deserved and all the more special as Bury in Bloom celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. I am so proud to be part of this Suffolk community.
Here are some images from the judges’ walk around Bury St Edmunds in July. All images © Carol Street
