A resident’s love letters to her town
If you’re ever about in Melksham early in the morning, it’s likely you’ll see the wonderful Ruth with the water bowser, tending to town centre flowers in the early morning sunshine.
She’s one of the dedicated Melksham Bloomers who work all year round helping keep Melksham beautiful.
The group formed several years ago to coordinate all the green-fingered volunteers in Melksham to prepare an entry into South West in Bloom.
This regional version of Britain in Bloom is not just about flowers – it celebrates environmental responsibility and community involvement, which Melksham is full of.
So, the judges from the RHS have always been impressed with Melksham and have awarded the town a run of gold awards since 2017, a legacy that the Melksham Bloomers – with help from businesses, voluntary groups and Melksham Town Council – have worked hard to maintain.
While the town council provides the majority of the flowers and hanging baskets, the Bloomers top up the floral impact with a few displays on Church Street and the Market Place. The wellbeing benefits of flowers are well known, so as well as increasing pride and love for Melksham, the continuous colour contributes to the happy sense of community and belonging that Melksham is so good at.
The voluntary involve-
ment continues to shine because alongside the main entry in the South West in Bloom competition, there are eight other community projects for the judges to recognise in Melksham. The Conigre Mead Nature Reserve is an environmental highlight of the tour, along with St Michael’s Churchyard, Church Street and the abundantly floral Church Walk. The secluded tranquillity of the Friends’ Garden on King Street gets a special visit, as well as the impressive tree planting scheme by the Melksham Green Spaces Group near the Water Meadow. Another highlight is the meticulous and thoughtful upcycled Waitrose garden made by Jo Bayliss in dementia friendly blues and yellows, with an impressive memory tree made of handmade pompoms by Blenheim House residents. The Flag Making group are also celebrated, for their year-long efforts to create the stunning David Attenborough themed flags and bunting in the Market Place.
The awards are wonderful recognition and the judges who are in Melksham this week (Tuesday 28th) will be undoubtedly impressed but the work of all of these volunteers and the Bloomers extends way beyond judging day. There is gardening, weeding, litter picking and cleaning that takes place all year round. The regular Tidy Town Days take place on the first Sunday of the month, where cheerful helpers in high-vis take to the streets armed with gloves and litter-pickers, supported by the council.
Anyone is welcome to join in – the next Tidy Town Day is on Sunday 2nd August, when you can just show up at the Town Hall at 1pm to meet Terri and Ruth, pick up all the kit you need and discover another lovely reason to Love Melksham.
Miriam Zaccarelli
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