Make Burwell Beautiful!
Burwell in Bloom – Judging Criteria
This is the first year of ‘Burwell in Bloom’ – a competition designed to help make Burwell even more beautiful - and to capitalise on our proud history of Village of the Year!
To help competition entrants with their gardens please note that the judges will be looking for certain ‘aspects’ in each category. While the judges decisions will be final we will welcome feedback from participants to make future competitions even better.
All gardens and gardeners must be located in Burwell!
If you have ‘seasonal interest’ in your garden we will allow entrants to send up to 5 photos of their garden, but please make sure that you minimise the size of the images, no more than 5MB please.
Category winners will receive a ‘Burwell in Bloom - Winner’ house plaque, which can be displayed proudly either inside or outside your house! There will also be ‘highly commended’ awards in each category.
Thank you for your interest – we hope that you will enter into the competition!
Note that the following aspects are not designed to be constraining – if you have a special aspect in your garden which you wish to highlight on your entry form please do so!
Best Small Garden
• A small garden should be about ½ tennis court in size – it could be a front garden for example, or a smaller rear garden.
• We are looking for a well planned garden with good healthy plants and use of colour and texture (where appropriate).
• How are you using the space effectively?– do you have to park a car or have a bin store included in the space, how have you used the space imaginatively.
• Extent of the diversity – you may have decided to focus on a small number of plants or a variety of trees, plants and flowers. Have you planned for ‘all year round interest’? Be prepared to answer questions on your choices.
• Have you grown many plants from seed or cuttings yourself?
• You may have chosen the elements of your garden to cope with climate change, or to attract wildlife, perhaps you have a small pond. Be prepared to answer questions on your choices.
• We are happy if part of the garden has been left to go wild but this should not be the main purpose of a garden in this category.
Best Large Garden
• There is no upper limit to the size of your garden but please be aware that the judges will be ‘on the clock’!
• Diversity of plant species – the judges will be looking for well stocked gardens with healthy plants, trees and shrubs.
• Depending on the size of your garden you may decide to focus the attention of the judges on a particular aspect, do you have a large collection of a certain plant or other features that make your garden special?
• How have you planned your large garden? Do you have areas set aside for particular uses, perhaps entertaining or sports?
• Have you planned for ‘all year round interest’? Be prepared to answer questions on your choices.
• Have you grown many plants from seed or cuttings yourself?
• Do you have any particular architectural elements in your garden that make it special? This could include design, furniture, ornaments, use of water etc.
• Are there zones or "rooms" in the garden in which there are different themes (eg water garden, dry garden) in your design, or have you based your design on a famous garden or some other overall theme?
• How are you attracting wildlife into your garden? Be prepared to answer questions.
• We are happy if part of the garden has been left to go wild but this should not be the main purpose of a garden in this category.
Best Wild Garden
• We have a number of wild spaces in Burwell and are looking to encourage bio-diversity and wildlife in all its forms.
• If you enter this category we would expect the majority of your garden to be given over to wild space and / or wildlife.
• In your garden, how are you providing for wildlife, and what animal species visit your garden?
• What particular plants are you using and why?
• Have you grown many plants from seed or cuttings yourself?
• What makes your garden ‘wild’ – do you have a wildlife pond for example, how do you avoid the use of pesticides, is your garden sustainable, for example, are you saving water, or using plants that require little care?
• Are you providing year round interest for wildlife?
Best Young Gardener
• Our Best Young Gardener category is open to all gardeners up to the age of 18.
• It’s a wider category than the others – you may be tending a part of a garden or allotment plot or have your own garden.
• What has been your involvement, what have you done? What have you learnt? Be prepared to answer questions, but it’s not a test!
• Depending on your garden and your role, some of the criteria from the categories above may apply.
Best Business in Bloom
• This is a special category for any business based in Burwell. You could be running a pub, a school, a club etc.
• How are you using plants to make your business stand out?
• Why have you chosen the planting schemes that you have? – for example, sustainability, year round interest, ease of maintenance etc
• Who maintains your planting? – extra credit will be given to entrants who maintain their own planting.
• How does your planting make the community a better place to live?
Entries close 13th July 2025. Entry form here
Poster