Saddleworth Gardens are blooming marvellous!
18th of August, 2025
Tuesday 12th August was an important day for Saddleworth’s green-fingered folk as they gathered to discover the decision of the Parish Council’s panel of judges for this year’s Saddleworth in Bloom competition, with six categories being contested altogether and dozens of entries from across Saddleworth.
Chair of the Parish Council, Cllr Helen Bishop, who was a member of the panel, said, “I know it sounds like a cliche, but we were staggered by the standard and diversity of entries into the competition. We were particularly pleased to see that sustainability played a big part too, with lots of people using water-butts, compost heaps and re-purposing different containers for pot plants and vegetables, and doing their bit for the environment. Really well done to all.”
The gardens were visited and assessed by the panel in July, with the result being kept a secret until the big reveal at the Civic Hall, where awards, certificates and refreshments were provided for all the entrants.
The winners in the six categories were:
Best Large Garden – Eileen Jones, Springhead
Best Medium Garden – Rosalyn Martin, Denshaw
Best Small Garden - Karen Spelman, Uppermill
Best Container Garden - Mark Clough, Diggle
Best Community Garden - Outram Mews, Kenworthy Gardens, Uppermill
Best Pub Garden - The Old Bell Inn, Delph
Karen, Allott, Clerk to the Council, who was also a member of the panel, reflected, “we have had a number of new entries this year, it was wonderful to see just how much pride and personality had gone into each garden, and also to see how they have developed, some from building sites to glorious gardens.”
The Parish Council are taking the lead this year on encouraging more people to use even the smallest outdoor space to help address environmental issues such as providing food for pollinators and fighting flooding. They aim to hold future events to assist people in accessing the information they need to make the most of the spaces they have, and hopefully encourage some future winners to get their gardening gloves on.
All the photos of the beautiful gardens are in the attached file!
View Attached File