Shrewsbury in Bloom was one of 15 Royal Horticultural Society [RHS] Britain in Bloom and It’s Your Neighbourhood groups filmed as part of a new BBC Two Series about the quintessentially British gardening competition.
Last summer, a film crew followed the progress of Shrewsbury to see what it takes to enter the RHS’s annual Bloom competitions.
Helen Ball, town clerk for Shrewsbury Town Council, said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to showcase our wonderful town to the rest of the country. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure that Shrewsbury’s flowers look their best for our residents and visitors throughout the year, and hopefully this programme will provide a glimpse of how everyone works together to achieve these great results.”
The film crew visited the town on a number of occasions prior to judging day last July, and the Town Council staff were on hand to provide details of the work involved producing and maintaining the varied floral features around the town.
Chris Bavin, one half of the presenting duo on BBC1’s “Eat Well for Less”, joined the Town Council’s staff before the judges arrived and was given a crash-course in the work required to ensure everything looked good prior to judging day.
Mark Bowen, Shrewsbury Town Council’s amenity space team leader, said: “Working with Chris was great and he was keen to get involved with everything.
“It was a completely different experience with a camera crew following us around and knowing that there was a microphone catching every word – we had to keep reminding ourselves that we needed to be on our best behaviour. There was a certain amount of pressure as we knew the cameras were rolling all the time and it was difficult to do the re-takes and remember what had been said and still act naturally.”
Head of operational logistics, Rob Plimmer, added: “The whole experience of filming was hard work both before judging and on the day itself, and it’s the little things about the filming that stand out. Whilst showing Chris Bavin the judging route, we weren’t allowed to have the windows in the van open during filming due to background noise – it was a boiling hot day and we were glad when the crew said “cut”!
“The whole experience was hard work, but also great fun. There is a great deal of team work which goes into ensuring the town looks its best and I’m proud of the staff who do such a great job.”
When the Heart of England in Bloom judges arrived in July, they were followed around town by the film crew to see Shrewsbury assessed against three key criteria – horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility.
Shrewsbury was awarded Gold in the Small City category at the Heart of England in Bloom presentation ceremony last September and was nominated to participate in the national Britain in Bloom competition for this summer.
The “Blooming Marvellous” series starts on April 16, with Shrewsbury’s programme aired on BBC2 on April 18 at 6.30pm.
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