Help 'Babbacombe Bay Bloomers' by Stumping up £5
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Babbacombe Bay Bloomers
Who are We?
A group of volunteers with a passion for keeping the St Marychurch Precinct, Community owned Rose Garden, Millennium Copse, Bug Bed and Abbey School Corner planting looking “Bloomin’ Lovely.”
Formed in 1998, the group funds, maintains and cares for these areas and in the four years 2016-2019 achieved a RHS South-West in Bloom Gold Award. In 2020 during the COVID19 period we were awarded a South West in Bloom Certificate of Excellence. In 2021 and 2022 we again received an RHS Gold Award and are working hard to again achieve this accolade in 2023.
This RHS Award is based on more than pretty flowers, it also encompasses Environmental matters, Community participation and involvement, areas we are pleased to have displayed to a high level.
What are we seeking funding for?
In Short:
To purchase sustainable plants to fill the Precinct and Fore Street’s eight large new self-watering planters and replace the planting in the sixteen existing planters and three flower beds all of which suffered badly during the hot summer weather of 2022.
The Community Rose Garden’s shrubs and roses also suffered; many now need replacing.
Why are we asking for your support?
In Detail:
The RHS have now widened their criteria, the Horticulture heading now requires the incorporation of sustainable planting, such as perennial plants, which will flower for several years and reduce the use of annual plants.
Where appropriate, dry weather tolerant shrubs and trees are advised as are economic and environmentally friendly watering systems.
We are a self-funding group of volunteers who rely on donations and community fund raising as Torbay Council’s SWISCo Company, because of the existing economic climate, have steadily reduced their assistance.
Environmentally - working to fulfil the watering criteria: As it isn’t possible to use a hosepipe in any of our areas, up until now we have had to rely on a pump operated water bowser. We have started to address use of water by replacing our ageing rotten wooden planters with heavy duty plastic self-watering ones.
Adding to these, partially funded by a Community Partnership Grant, we purchased a further four self-watering planters to place in Fore Street, bringing that valuable shopping area into our display.
All was going well until the very hot summer of 2022.
We had ring fenced funds to purchase sustainable plants both for our existing planters and to fill our new ones, but last year’s very hot summer unfortunately, no matter how much we watered, took its toll on our planting and all our tubs and planters now require many of their plants replacing.
The Rose Garden’s grass, shrubs and planting suffered the most, this was an area we had not expected to have to include in our planning.
Please help us to maintain our floral displays and care for our environment, making St Marychurch such a lovely place to live and visit.
If we should be so lucky as to raise more than we need to fill our new planters, there are many things we pay for through the year, like insurance, repairs & maintenance, replacement plants & tools, Fore St bunting, event expenses etc so the funds would be used elsewhere to help us and gratefully received.
Any queries to K Gillon Treasurer of Babbacombe Bay in Bloom
Organizer
Kerry GILLON
Organizer
England