Friends of Broomfield Park collected five awards at this year's Enfield in Bloom, including two Golds. Left to right: David March, Jean Davis, Georgia Lagou, Graham Hope
Palmers Green organisations were again among the proud recipients of Gold awards at this year's Enfield in Bloom ceremony, held this time at Chickenshed in Southgate. They went to two Friends of Broomfield Park projects - the Conservatory and the Wildlife Pond, to Anthony Webb estate agents in Green Lanes, and to Tottenhall Infant School.
There were Gold awards too for two impressive nature projects in Winchmore Hill - Woodcroft Wildspace and Firs Farm Wetlands.
Anthony Webb estate agents in Green Lanes, surrounded by window boxes and hanging baskets, was awarded Gold in the category Best Display in a Public Area
Five for the Friends
Not content with two Golds, Friends of Broomfield Park also picked up Silver awards for the Community Orchard and the Growing Space and Bronze for the Walled Garden.
Broomfield Conservatory is a serial winner of Enfield in Bloom awards! It's now 12 years since the Friends took over the planting and turned it into our own mini Kew Gardens. It's open from 2pm to 4pm on Sundays and Wednesdays. Come along and watch the bunch of bananas get bigger by the day!
The pond was created in 2016 and is planted with native plants, including watermint, water buttercup, iris and waterlilies. It is surrounded by a native hedgerow with crab apple, hawthorn, hazel, blackthorn, dogrose. This provides a shelter for the pond, which is an important habitat for nesting birds and amphibians and invertebrates. This year a family of moorhens successfully raising their young on the pond. It's also played home several species of dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, newts, frogs and even a stickleback.
Pond dipping in the wildlife pond is a very popular activity when local schools visit the park.
The Orchard has never looked better now that the trees are established in the setting of a wildflower meadow.
The Growing Space has become the focus of the Friends' work with young people, using funding provided by the Palmers Greenery Community Cafe (the profits from coffee and cakes all go to good causes!). West Lea pupils this year grew and harvested crops and turned them into a delicious lunch with help from Cooking Champions.
The Friends have been putting a huge amount of work into restoring the long border and other flowerbeds within the walled garden after years of neglect. So far this year the volunteers have put in more than a thousand hours - you're invited to join them every Wednesday, rain or shine.
Learning about nature hands-on
Tottenhall School's Gold award was in the category Best school grounds with environmental and educational aspect. When better to start learning about the natural world than during your times at infants' school?
"Winning Gold is a real team achievement"
Anthony Webb director Tony Ourris with former Tottenham player Ossie Ardiles. Spurs are the main sponsor of Enfield in Bloom.
Suna and Martin McKelvey display the Gold award - they create the floral displays outside the Anthony Webb office.
Tony Ourris, director of Anthony Webb estate agents, said that the Gold award for Best Display in a Public Area (an advance on last year's Silver) will take pride of place inside the firm's office in Green Lanes. He says that winning it has been a team achievement. The window displays are created by office manager Martin McKelvey and his wife Suna, and then cared for throughout the year by everyone in the shop.
"We started our floral display three years ago when we asked a local Palmers Green ironmonger to make for us the industrial strength wall brackets for hanging baskets. The following year we decided to go one further by adding the 14 window boxes to our window sills. Recently we replaced the window boxes with deeper ones so that we can have even more flowers. Our new autumn/winter display has just been planted by Suna and Martin."
Of course, the majority of Enfield in Bloom awards quite rightly went to people's private gardens. They're listed by people's names rather than by address. If any of them are local, please drop me a line.
Incidentally, I've been told that several of the volunteers on the Enfield in Bloom committee are standing down, so new faces are needed to ensure that Enfield in Bloom continues to bloom. If you'd be interested, there's a contact page on their website.
To see the complete list of winners, with photographs, visit the Enfield in Bloom website.
Local award winners
| School grounds with environmental and educational aspect | |
| Tottenhall Infant School | Gold |
| Exceptional horticultural contribution to the community | |
| Broomfield Conservatory | Gold |
| Broomfield Community Orchard | Silver |
| Broomfield Walled Garden | Bronze |
| Entrance, Woodcroft Wildspace | Bronze |
| Sensory garden, Woodcroft Wildspace | Bronze |
| Best display in a public area | |
| Anthony Webb Estate Agents | Gold |
| Innovative growing space | |
| Broomfield Park Growing Space | Silver |
| Environmental and wildlife garden | |
| Broomfield Park Wildlife Pond | Gold |
| Woodcroft Wildspace | Gold |
| Firs Farm Wetlands | Gold |
