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Date: 19 May 2025
Staff and pupils from St John the Baptist Primary School are calling on budding gardeners to follow their lead and enter this year’s Belfast in Bloom competition.
The school was among the winners of last year’s contest, picking up the prize for Best School Garden (West).
Their outdoor space brings pupils, their parents and grandparents together to foster a love of growing, with wildflowers, seasonal planting and vegetables all on display. The school’s gardening club have also made the garden a home for local wildlife, with bug houses and bee-friendly habitats.
Run by Belfast City Council, Belfast in Bloom celebrates the green-fingered efforts and work of local residents, community groups and businesses across the city.
There are individual awards, community awards and prizes for commercial premises, businesses and schools.
Visiting the St John the Baptist PS garden, Councillor Matt Garrett, Deputy Chair of Belfast City Council’s People and Communities Committee, said: “What a brilliant space the children and their teachers have built, creating a place that looks amazing and encourages young people to spend time outdoors, in nature, together with their friends and families.
“Their Belfast in Bloom award was well deserved and really appreciated by the school as an acknowledgement of all the hard work and effort that has gone into the garden.
“If you know a school that is doing something similar, a neighbour with amazing window boxes or hanging baskets, a business who has created a brilliant atmosphere with creative planting or a community group going the extra mile to bring people together through gardening – we want to hear about it!
“Nominating someone for an Belfast in Bloom award is a great way to recognise their efforts and, with this year’s sunny spell, we hope to have lots of beautiful entries to choose from.”
Residents can enter for the ‘Best Hanging Basket’, ‘Best Window Box’ and ‘Best Garden’.
Community organisations can enter for ‘Best Community Street’, ‘Best Community Group’ and ‘Best Community Garden’.
Businesses can enter the commercial category for ‘Best Hotel’, ‘Best Public House’, ‘Best Restaurant’, ‘Best Commercial Street’ and ‘Best Commercial Premises’, and local schools can enter for ‘Best Kept School Garden’ in the north, south, east and west of the city.
There are also awards for ‘Best Individual Allotment’ and ‘Best Allotment Site’ in Belfast.
The competition is free to enter, and nominations can be made online at belfastcity.gov.uk/belfastinbloom
The closing date for the school awards’ category is Friday 20 June 2025 and the closing date for all other categories is Friday 1 August 2025, with judging taking place in August.
Other winners in 2024 included The Errigle Inn, Linen Quarter BID for Great Victoria Street, Wolfhill Community Garden and Dundela Infants’ School.