Blooms of every hue impressed judges in the 2020 Walmer in Bloom competition.

Residents nurtured their florals in borders and containers as part of their unwavering commitment to improving the parish - despite the pandemic necessitating virtual judging.

Walmer in Bloom final round judge Janine Doulton, a Royal Horticultural Society Judge, said: “The standards were as high as ever this year and the final winners of each section should be very proud of their achievements. Let’s hope that next year we will be back to normal.”

This year a new Wildlife Friendly category was launnched, judged by WIB committee member, Richard Oram a lepidopterist who studies moths and butterflies.

Winners were chosen in three different geographical areas: Lower, Middle and Upper Walmer. In the preliminary round of judging, commended certificates were posted to over 300 properties. Runners up will be awarded either a Highly Commended Certificate, or Certificate of Excellence

• Winner of the Best Garden – Middle Walmer – Mr D Brookes of Salisbury Road

• Best Container – Upper Walmer - Mr M Claringbould of Court Road, Middle Walmer – Mr A Scott of Herschel Road West, Lower Walmer - Ciara Lanphier of Ardent Avenue

• Best use of Small Space - Upper Walmer – Mr V Recas of Dover Road, Middle Walmer – Mr and Mrs Thompson of Kennedy Drive, Lower Walmer – Mr R Heine of Cheriton Place

• Wildlife Friendly - Middle Walmer – Mr and Mrs Flint of Liverpool Road, Lower Walmer - Mr P Butler of Ardent Ave

• Business Winners - 1st Place – The Lighthouse, 2nd Place – Castle Fish Bar, 3rd Place – Walmer Baptist Church

• Other Highly Commended winners also included: Mr and Mrs Brown of Harvey Ave, Mrs S Simm of Ravenscourt Road, B D Thompson of Salisbury Road, Mr I Squire of Havelock Road, Mrs May MacAfee of Walmer Castle Road

Before the entries were even made, pupils from The Downs and Parochial Primary Schools entered a separate competition to design the Walmer in Bloom promotional posters.

Evie Brown of The Downs came first with her colourful cartoon watering can which will appear on certificates for commended and highly commended gardeners.

Runner up was Lucia De Cicco also of The Downs, who produced a fine art display of flowers in a winner’s trophy.

Highly commended certificates will be awarded to Zara Meakins, Charlie Watson and Harry Gray for their poster entries.

The highly commended certificates for Parochial School pupils will go to Benjamin Sellier and Finley Berry.

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