Thursday morning saw me out on another photographic assignment with Bury in Bloom. The Tollgate Triangle is a traffic island on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds. It is also next to a very nice pub (I’m not sure if this latter point is really relevant in the scheme of things but just thought I’d let you know). The island was planted up with a ‘river of flowers’ by Bury in Bloom three years ago with the help of celebrity gardener Adrian Bloom. Adrian had designed the original ‘flower river’ at Bressingham Gardens in Norfolk and was happy to lend his expertise to this project.
Whilst planted to be a year round garden the island looks its best in summer and autumn when a violet-blue hardy geranium (Geranium Rozanne since you ask) runs up the middle of the beds like a river.
After the snowdrops had finished, the beds were looking a bit bedraggled and forlorn. Thursday was tidy-up day with a band of volunteers from local organisations weeding and pruning after the autumn and winter seasons. Adrian came along to give some guidance and some of the local press also dropped by.
Thankfully it didn’t rain, which wasn’t a given by any means after the weather we’ve seen this week.
There is a lovely community feel to this project with a warm camaraderie amongst the different groups who are involved. Both the volunteers and the representatives from the local council chatted afterwards over a cup of coffee in the pub. One idea being discussed is for the council to publish the planting plan so that local people and visitors to the town can take away some ideas for their own gardens. I’ve therefore also taken detailed pictures of the beds and Adrian has kindly offered (or was possibly coerced?) to act as ‘plant identifier’ so that the planting plan can be drawn up.
Whilst I stayed firmly behind my camera, the enthusiasm of the volunteer gardeners was really infectious. Even the ex-Mayor came along and did his bit. It was amazing to see how much better the beds looked after only an hour or so of hard work. Just goes to show that many hands make light work as they say.
Below you can find a small selection of images from the shoot which I think sum up the morning’s endeavours pretty well.
If you are looking for a photographer to record your event, however big or small, formal or informal, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you and have a chat about your plans.
All images © Carol Street
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- Adrian Bloom
