Spelthorne in Bloom

Announcing the 2022 Spelthorne in Bloom winners

The winners of the 2022 Spelthorne in Bloom competition were announced at a celebration evening on 11 October at Notcutts Garden Centre in Stainesupon-Thames.

The competition celebrates the work of Spelthorne’s green-fingered residents and businesses who help to make the Borough a brighter, cleaner and greener place to live. The judging took place in July and August with marks being awarded for a range of criteria including design, colour, biodiversity and sustainability.

The Chairman of the Spelthorne in Bloom Committee, Nick Wood-Dow, said “We were delighted to receive so many beautiful and imaginative entries this year. These wonderful gardens, displays, memorials and allotments brighten our environment and simply make the Borough a better place to live. Thank you to everyone who entered the competition and all the volunteers and sponsors, without whom the competition could not take place.” The Mayor of Spelthorne, Cllr Susan Doran, said: “It has been really lovely to be part of the Spelthorne in Bloom awards evening and to help celebrate the talented and creative gardeners we have here in Spelthorne. Their wonderful gardens and displays enrich the Borough for everyone and show Spelthorne at its very best. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners. All their hard work throughout the year was certainly worth the effort.”

Spelthorne in Bloom opens again in spring 2023. We are looking for new members to join the Spelthorne in Bloom Committee so if you are interested in encouraging others to brighten up the Borough and helping to judge entries for this next year’s competition, we would love to hear from you.

More sponsors are also needed, so please get in touch if you are looking for a great way to promote your company whilst supporting a much-loved community initiative. Please contact Emma Paver for more information by email at Spelthorne.inbloom@spelthorne.gov.uk or call

01784 446379.

Many congratulations to the winners and finalists:

Tallest Sunflower

HC Manor Mead School 3rd Saxon Primary School 2nd Our Lady of the Rosary 1st Springfield Primary

Best Edible Garden

HC Laleham Primary 3rd Stanwell Fields Primary 2nd Hawkesdale Primary 1st Ashford Park Primary

Best School Garden

HC Echelford Primary 3rd Laleham Primary 2nd Stanwell Fields Primary 1st Ashford Park Primary

Best Kept Front Garden

HC Pauline Bartlett, Turner Close 3rd Linda Osborne, Manor Farm Avenue 2nd Leslie Grimes, Manor Lane 1st Susan Wells, The Drive

Best Container Display

HC Eve Bird, St Martins Court HC Hazel Clarke, St Martins Court Joint 2nd Bridget Clifford, Manor Lane Joint 2nd Linda Osborne, Manor Farm Avenue 1st Leslie Grimes, Manor Lane

Best Environmental Planting Project

HC Staines Park 3rd Shepperton Village 2nd Ashford Park Primary School 1st Stanwell Community Allotment

Best Community Garden

HC Stanwell Moor HC Stanwell Community Allotment Joint 2nd Vinter Court, Shepperton Joint 2nd Normanhurst, Ashford 1st St Martins Court

Best Riverside Garden

2nd Rosemary Lafferty, Sunbury 1st Guibin Chaworth-Musters

Best Kept Allotment

HC Suri Sokhi, London Road HC Doug and Liz Gibson, Moor Lane HC Lukasz and Karina, The Clumps 3rd Gavin and Katarzyna, Groveley Road 2nd Martin and Magda, Commercial Road 1st Gary Clements, London Road

Best Kept War Memorial

3rd Ashford 2nd St Mary Magdalene Church 1st Stanwell

Best Kept Place of Worship

1st St Marys Church, Stanwell

Best Kept Small Pub

HC Old Red Lion, Staines 3rd The Flower Pot, Sunbury 2nd The Harrow, Shepperton 1st The Feathers, Laleham

Best Kept Large Pub

HC The Kings Head, Ashford 3rd The Freemans Arms, Ashford 2nd The Rising Sun, Stanwell 1st The Three Horseshoes, Shepperton

Best New Entrant

Linda Osborne, Manor Farm Avenue

HC = Highly Commended

Come On In And Be ‘On Trend’ This Christmas With Squire’s

With Christmas not too far away, thoughts are turning to sourcing the tree, what decorations to go for and importantly, those special gifts for family and friends. This year more than ever sees a strong focus on making the home the heart of Christmas, as well as a desire for durable products and investing in quality, decorative pieces that will be around for years to come. Complete your Christmas at Squire’s Garden Centres, with ideas for the home as well as gifts for all.

Tree Trends

While real Christmas trees remain as popular as ever with many homes opting for multiple trees, there are also benefits in investing in an artificial tree - and the ‘frosted-look’ is particularly ontrend such as the 6ft 6” Snowy Dorchester (£249.99) as well as pre-lit trees like the 6ft 400 LED Ontario Pre-lit (£279.99). Squire’s Christmas Buying Expert, Sally Lomax, comments: “Many people like to dress their homes with more than one tree, perhaps in different rooms or one in the house and one outside the front door. An artificial tree is an economical way to do this. But there is also a nod to the savvy-shopper, as customers see the artificial tree as a cost-effective investment that can be enjoyed over many years.”

Energy-efficient Christmas Lights

Christmas lighting is an essential element to get things sparkling and this year might be the year to check just how energy efficient your lights actually are, as we are ever more mindful of electricity consumption. Sally continues: “Checking your Christmas lights could be a wise move this year by looking at how energy efficient old sets are. It might be timely to invest in a new, more energy efficient set. Take a look at the plug or transformer on your lights and look at the wattage.”

“We estimate for our best-selling 1000 LED compact bulb light set with a timer, suitable for covering a 6ft to 7ft tree and running for 8 hours per day for 30 days, will cost just 75p. This works out at about 2.5p per day.”*

Squire’s offers a comprehensive range of indoor and outdoor lights - whether you are looking for tree lights, window lights or lit Christmas decoration lighting. Of particular note this year is the trend for softer, stylish ‘rainbow’ lighting which creates a lovely warm colour glow such as 100 LED Multi Action Battery Operated Lights in Rainbow (£7.99) and 378 LED Micro Dense Lights in Rainbow (£19.99).

The ‘At Home’ Trend

Christmas has always been about being ‘home’ for many, but more than ever this year there is a real desire for ‘being cosy’, ‘at home’ and ‘layering up’. Squire’s Garden

From a welcoming statement front door, festively dressed that says “come on in” , decorated with striking outdoor oversized dazzling baubles (£4.99/£11.99 and 4-pack/£7.99) and potted Christmas trees, garlands and wreaths for the outside (Squire’s Imperial Front Door LED Collection - £129.99), to luxurious throws for adults (and children alike!), slippers and cosy socks perfect as self-treats or gifting ideas.

Light up the home with Squire’s extensive range of candles, festive and soothing, like the wonderful fragrances of The Country Candle Collection (NEW to Squire’s and British made, prices starting from £10.99) including Sugared Raspberry Pastel, Charred Amber Pastel and Blueberry & Goji Pastel to name just a few and hand-decorated with co-ordinated petals.

Perfectly packaged for gifts is the Wax Lyrical range, priced from £4.99 for tea light packs (or 3 packs for £10), and the ever-popular British made St Eval candles, ranging from an Advent Candle (£5.99), Scented Tealight sets (£9.99) and the White Christmas Orange & Cinnamon Pot Candle (£14.99). For everyday instant glow, Squire’s has a wide range of Price’s everyday candles, from White Tealights (£5.99) to large Alter Candles (£9.99).

Shop locally, Sustainably and Support British Made Squire’s is the perfect destination for the mindful shopper who is looking to make thoughtful and re-usable choices this Christmas. Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “Squire’s prides itself on supporting local suppliers and stocking British-made products wherever possible and we know this is welcomed by our customers. Many are consciously looking to buy products that are considered an investment and that they can enjoy for years to come – this could be an artificial tree through to delightful Christmas decorations that are brought out year after year and become firm family favourites. We hope that shopping at Squire’s is a truly magical experience and surprises and delights families visiting us this Christmas.”

Christmas Crossword

Across 2 The celebration of the Eucharist (4) 4 The wise men (4) 6 Evergreen climbing plant (3) 8 Public house (3) 9 Colour of trees (5) 10 One of the gifts brought by the Three Wise Men (4) 11 Term referring to God (4) 14 Great happiness (3) 15 Toys particularly for girls (5) 16 Transport used on snow (4) 17 Often with mincemeat (3) 19 Santa’s helpers (5)

Down 1 Noisy celebrations (10) 2 Amazing or wonderful occurrence (7) 3 26th December (6,3) 5 Heavenly creature (5) 7 The season around Christmas (8) 12 Cooking method for turkey and chestnuts (5) 13 Popular Christmas colour (3) 14 Special anniversary (7) 17 Coniferous tree (4) 18 Gifts given to children (4)

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