Digging for Britain in Bloom victory

WITH Britain in Bloom approaching, all of Herm is pitching in to help win gold – and the island's children are no exception.

The schoolchildren are working hard on a new jubilee garden and even the pre-schoolers have turned their hands to all things green.

Head gardener Brett Moore's son Harry, four, along with Emy Hastings, also four, and Albie Waterhouse, three, joined Brett and assistant gardener Roseanne Wheeler for a spot of planting at the top of The Drive.

National Gardening Week was between 16 and 22 April. As part of this, the RHS gave out support packs to Britain in Bloom competitors and other community groups to encourage people to get gardening.

'They offered us packets of wildflower seeds as part of their Wild About Wildflowers campaign,' said Roseanne. 'We got 10 square metres'-worth of a cornfield seed mix, so there will be things like corn poppies, cornflowers and corn marigold in that.

'We asked the pre-schoolers to help us sow the seeds in the new flowerbed at by the entrance to the woodland walk.'

The children are no strangers to these activities, often getting involved with community events, such as acorn planting last November and willow planting in February.

'We've noticed that a lot of the seed has already germinated, which is brilliant because it will make the top of the hill much brighter and more colourful than it was before, and attract bees and butterflies,' said Roseanne. 'So what looks like a bit of an empty flower bed at the moment will be a little meadow in the summer.'