Community united for Rustington’s In Bloom effort

The community united in its effort to impress the judges, as they toured some of Rustington’s floral delights.

And all this, just days before the village becomes one of only two entries from the UK to take part in Europe’s most prestigious horticultural competition, Entente Florale.

The day began with a short presentation by Valerie Narayanaswamy, chairman of the Rustington In Bloom Committee, at the Woodland Centre, in Woodlands Avenue.

This was followed by speeches from the village’s parish council chairman, Andy Cooper and members of The Oak Community Project and the Youth Offending team – who have each played a key role in this year’s In Bloom bid.

Valerie explained how the village’s community had worked tirelessly to prepare for this month’s horticultural extravaganza and said that a lot of the projects started in schools and clubs had truly come into fruition and blossomed.

The judges were then taken on a two-hour tour of the village, stopping off at the Georgian Gardens and Rustington primary schools, the Worthing Road allotment site, and some of the impressive Olympic-themed displays at the eastern end of The Street.

They also saw more than a dozen flowerbeds and displays, including those in Holmes Lane and Chaucer Avenue.

Andy said: “I think the judging went really well. Both of the judges had visited Rustington before, which was good.

“It meant they could see just how our community projects have evolved over time – which is something they commented on.

“Rustington is an exceptional place, it really is.

“Pun aside, the community projects have flourished and are blooming.”

The results of the judging will be announced on September 14, when the village hopes to win yet another gold award in the “town” category, following on from consecutive bids during the past two years.

Andy added: “This event was the precursor to Sunday’s Entente Floral judging, which is the biggy.

“We’re the first community in the south east of England to ever be invited to the competition.”

Andy wished to thank all those who have supported the event and gave a special thanks to the staff at Ferring Nurseries for their tireless work in maintaining and designing many of the beds.