Following an overall win in the Floral Guernsey Competition in 2018 Sark was awarded a place in the National Finals this year. Around eighty finalists were chosen from 1600 communities which competed in local competitions.

It was announced at the RHS awards evening at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London this evening that Sark Community Blooms, representing not only Sark but also the Bailiwick of Guernsey, was awarded the high level of Silver Gilt in the Small Coastal section of the competition.

When R.H.S judges Anne Holland and Kate Dagnell visited the island in August they were particularly impressed with the wide range of horticultural and environmental activities carried out by the group and the very high level of community involvement. They were very pleased to see attempts at minimising single use plastic and increasing opportunities for recycling. Being in the coastal category enabled the judges to spend longer on the island and a spokesman from Sark Community Blooms said ‘We were delighted, through the generosity of a number of local businesses and the Seigneur and Mrs Beaumont, to be able to extend the very best of Sark hospitality’.

Paul Williams, one of the group’s organisers said ‘We are delighted that our island has been recognised in this prestigious R.H.S competition which complements our Dark Skies status and our Ramsar Wetland site. The Silver Gilt recognition is a great tribute to the very large number of residents of Sark who have worked so hard to enable us to achieve this accolade.’

Major Christopher Beaumont, Seigneur of Sark and Sark Community Blooms Patron added:

‘There’s no better way of bringing a community together than a shared goal. Sark’s small, highly motivated, knowledgeable and extremely enthusiastic group of “Bloomers” have once again galvanized the whole community from the youngest members of our school to the oldest members of the cake baking fraternity to bring colour and joy to the Island. It has been our pleasure and honour to represent the Bailiwick. We are delighted to have been awarded a Silver Gilt. To have achieved this standard is a testament to the dedication of the team that organized the planting, weeding, clearing, tidying, cake making and tea brewing. Sark is a better place for their efforts and everyone who visits our beautiful island will benefit from their endeavou