Bury in Bloom keeps growing

Our February Bury Free Press article is about our work to found and run Bury in Bloom over the years and what is planned in preparation for this year.

All things change and Bury in Bloom is no exception. However Bury in Bloom has always been part of the Bury Society. It is part financed and organised by The Bury Society CIO because we have always seen trees and planting as an important element of our town.

Bury in Bloom began back in 1986 and today it works alongside the local authorities, businesses, community and education groups. Our aim is to make Bury St Edmunds a cleaner, greener, more beautiful town. Each year, Bury in Bloom features strongly in regional and national awards through Anglia in Bloom and the national Britain in Bloom

As part of the preparation for this year’s Bury in Bloom, we promote the Bury St Edmunds Seed Swap. This was founded in 2024 as a way to encourage residents to share the love of plants by swapping packets of seed. The Seed Swap saves people money, minimises wastage and crucially fulfils our community engagement criteria for the ‘In Bloom’ movement.

What started as an event hoping to attract a handful of people, quickly saw hundreds of visitors taking part – of every generation! Bury St Edmunds Town Council very kindly funded the first event and continue to do so in 2025. This year’s event returns on Saturday 22 February from 11:30 to 15:30 at The Centre in St John’s Street. The attached Old School Café have once again agreed to extend their opening hours to accommodate the event.

Members of the public will be able to swap flower, vegetable and herb seeds, as well as house plants, gardening magazines, and a host of different charity stalls promoting their work locally. Plus, once again, we will be raising money for charity by asking a 50p donation per item taken if you have nothing to swap in exchange. Our charity of choice this year is Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Requests have been coming in for a later Plant Swap in town, so we have listened and Bury in Bloom will be hosting a Plant Swap at the Quaker Meeting House on Saturday 19 April 2025 (Easter weekend), from 11:30 to 15:30.

Residents can use the seeds in their own gardens to help develop the pride in their streets and that forms a huge part of our entry into the ‘In Bloom’ competition.

Volunteers help coordinate the many different elements of the scheme. Today it is the strength of the society’s membership and community involvement which attracts the sponsors who help fund Bury in Bloom.

Full details of all the work of the society can be seen on our website www.burysociety.com  

Chris Wiley (coordinator@buryinbloom.org.uk ) & Alan Baxter