Jersey 'blooms' despite lockdown measures

Sunday 25 October 2020

The winners of Jersey in Bloom 2020 have been announced after parishes and pubs continued with floral displays despite lockdown measures.

Although Jersey in Bloom 2020 was officially cancelled earlier this year, many parish halls and pubs continued with their usual decorations, working under considerable restrictions during lockdown.

The Natural Jersey team therefore decided to judge the displays during July, with the remote assistance of senior Royal Horticultural Society judge, Rae Beckwith.

They said the standard was so high that every participating Parish hall was awarded a ‘Gold’ certificate, with St. Ouen and St. Clement jointly winning the Best Parish Hall award. 

Best Jersey Pub went to The Farmers Inn, St. Ouen for the second year running, while The Tipsy, St. Peter and Horse and Hound, St. Brelade were awarded Gold.

Pictured: St. Clement was one of the joint winners of the Best Parish Hall award.

Awards and certificates were presented by Connétable, Dierdre Mezbourian, Chairman of the Comité des Connetables, on behalf of the Natural Jersey team. 

Natural Jersey Chairman, Chris Perkins, said: “In common with many voluntary groups, ‘lockdown’ meant that community volunteers were very restricted in what they could do in terms of planning and preparing their displays. 

“Nevertheless, Parish Bloom Groups in particular managed to put together some outstanding floral displays, which served to bring colour into the lives of many in troubled times. My congratulations to Parish Staff and volunteers for all their hard work and dedication.”

Pictured: Former Chairman, Mike Stentiford, received a token of appreciation from the Natural Jersey team.

The Mike Stentiford Environmental Award was essentially unaffected by corona virus restrictions, and was this year awarded to Ben du Feu for his pollinator project, ‘Trinity Meadow’.

Jed Pinel received a discretionary award for the floral displays on and around St. Ouen’s Parish Hall, while St. Helier Parks and Gardens were praised for "cheering up the community during difficult times."

Former Chairman, Mike Stentiford was also awarded a small engraved plate by the Natural Jersey team as a token of appreciation for guiding the formation of the organisation which has kept Jersey in Bloom alive.