Information about the great floral displays of Norwich in bloom will be posted here.
Say It With Flowers
Everyone seems to like flowers and this is also true of enthusiasts in Norwich. Not only do they tend their own gardens, they come out in full force to enter Norwich in the Britain in Bloom contest held annually. Locally known as Norwich in Bloom, everyone vies for the first prize so the whole city lights up with colorful plants and displays as far as the eye can see.
Norwich has become very well known for its excellent attitude to flowers and this is witnessed by the displays in the parks and roundabouts around the city. This dates back to the 1980s when the local city council started to encourage people to compete. The Friends to Norwich in Bloom was founded in the last part of that decade and has grown in popularity since then.
Norwich City In Bloom
The city of Norwich won the Bloom Best City in 2000 and since then, the membership has continued to grow with people becoming involved with different projects that the committee sets up. In 2003, after even more success, the Norwich City Council, along with some sponsors from businesses in the city, forwarded a grant so that the competition could keep going.
In 2004, Norwich did it again by qualifying for the finals in the Britain in Bloom contest. With every success, the popularity of this endeavour just seems to keep growing and growing.
For the Tourist
The summer is possible the best time for tourists to see Norwich bedecked in all its splendour. Every lamp post has a display, every shop front will have a pot of two of its own, and the roundabouts and public areas will be full to overflowing with displays of every bloom that one can think of.
Set all this wonderful colour against a backdrop of ancient buildings, including Norwich Cathedral and Norwich Castle and one can see why the place springs to life when everything is at its best.
Indeed, not only can one wander and gaze at all of this, one can also join the horticultural society and promote the city’s efforts to keep the place looking wonderful all year round. This is surely a great way to go ‘green’ in the very literal sense of the word.
Something Else …
For those who get bitten by the bug, a visit to Bradenham Hall is on the cards. The gardens and house here are literally covered with all kinds of climbers and shrubs along with fruit trees too. Formal rose gardens skirt neat hedges and herb gardens to boot.
The arboretum has more than eight hundred different species of trees, some of them quite rare indeed, and the kitchen garden is also a sight to behold with vegetables, cut flowers and greenhouses for the more tender plants.
Visit in spring and see the massed plantings of more than 90 different kinds of daffodils in parkland and wonder why that poem about ‘a host of golden daffodils’ was actually written. A sight to behold for sure!
