Congleton In Bloom

13/10/2026

The community gardeners were back out working in the boat border in the Jubilee Gardens at Congleton park this afternoon.

Here is a short tour of the rest of this historic award-winning park.

Many thanks go to the Streetscape team of gardeners who keep the park looking so wonderful all year round.

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11/10/2026

This time last week we were delighted to work with Congleton Rotary at Congleton War Memorial hospital to plant a new leaf shaped border with a Christmas tree, slow-growing conifers and hundreds of spring bulbs (white tulips and narcissi, blue & white muscari).
This is a memorial garden for Rotarian Paul Hughes, former Rotary President in 2011-12.

This border is in front of 3 of the wards & will be seen by patients, staff & visitors.

We've since planted thousands of purple crocus corms, as part of the Rotary 'purple for polio' worldwide scheme to help eradicate polio'.

09/10/2026

Evening primrose is one of the best plants for supporting night-time wildlife! When grown alongside ivy, nicotiana and devil's-bit scabious, it can make a valuable contribution to garden biodiversity. Here's everything you need to know about it:

💛 Unlike most flowers, its large yellow blooms open in the evening and remain open for moths throughout the night. Highly visible in low light, they also produce a sweet fragrance that attracts night-flying moths.

💛 These moths, particularly hawkmoths, visit the flowers to feed on nectar and pollinate the plant as they move between blooms.

💛 Most British bats feed on insects rather than nectar. By attracting large numbers of moths and other nocturnal insects, evening primrose effectively creates a feeding station for bats hunting after dark.

💛 It supports numerous species of butterflies, provides pollen for both specialist and generalist bees, and its seed heads are enjoyed by birds during winter.

💛 Ideal for wildlife borders, gravel gardens and meadow-style planting, it's easy to grow from seed and thrives in a sunny position with poor, sandy soils.

Find out more about boosting wildlife in your garden by growing evening primrose: https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/86498/oenothera-biennis/details

07/10/2026

A sunny afternoon in Congleton park........

07/10/2026

Ideas for schools - gardening in containers

No garden? No problem!

Want to reach Level 1 of the Campaign for School Gardening? Remember, 'We have started gardening' doesn't have to mean creating a full school garden.

Why not get started with container gardening instead? It's a simple and flexible way to get growing, whether you have access to a playground, courtyard, entrance area or even a windowsill.

There are lots of ideas here to help: https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/school-gardening/resources/getting-started/container-gardening

Have you used containers to start your gardening journey at school? Tell us in the comments!

06/10/2026

We're delighted that Trees for Congleton is a finalist in the first Wilder Cheshire awards.
The awards ceremony is at Chester Zoo on 12 November. We wish them all the best.

They united our community, whilst planting approx 31,000 trees, hedge plants, fruit trees & woody shrubs in and around Congleton since autumn 2019, in response to Congleton Town Council 's declaration of a climate emergency.
They established a tree nursery & gave away saplings to other local groups.
They involved so many different groups from nurseries, schools, students, parents, grandparents, sports clubs and care homes.
Hundreds of volunteers putting in thousands of hours.
Congratulations on becoming a finalist.

Wilder Cheshire Awards 2026 Finalist Announcements 🎉

Huge congratulations to all of the finalists shortlisted across ten categories for the inaugural Wilder Cheshire Awards, organised by Cheshire Local Nature Partnership!

These awards are a true showcase of grassroots action and ambitious nature recovery across Cheshire.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust is proud to support the awards and all those championing a better future for nature.

Awards judge and Co-Chair of Cheshire Local Nature Partnership, and Cheshire Wildlife Trust CEO, Charlotte Harris, said: “The judges had a tough job choosing from a wide range of brilliant projects, from parish councils creating meadows, communities connecting wildlife sites and schools transforming their grounds to farmers breaking the mould by embedding nature into their business model and large estates and local authorities showing leadership in nature recovery at scale.”

Head over to the CLNP website to see a full list of finalists in all categories.

02/10/2026

What have we been up to this week?
The community gardeners have been out tidying Margaret's Place

20/09/2026

20/09/2026

Time to deconstruct the community garden festival down at Congleton park.
Patti spent a couple of hours yesterday, now ready for the wonderful wheelbarrows to be returned & the schools to come along to dismantle their back to back gardens.

Once again thanks to our sponsors the
William Dean Trust
And Congleton Town Council for loaning us the polytunnel for the summer.