JUDGING has taken place in Stonehouse for the finals of a national community gardening competition.

Stonehouse in Bloom welcomed Britain in Bloom judges Dale Hector and Alan Hulme to the town on Tuesday, July 30.

The Royal Horticultural Society judges were shown the town as part of the 2024 Britain in Bloom finals.

Stonehouse in Bloom is a finalist in the contest’s Small Town category.

“It was a wonderful day,” a spokesperson for Stonehouse in Bloom said.

According to the RHS, Britain in Bloom and its grassroots version, RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood, constitute the UK’s biggest community gardening campaign - with 3,000 groups and hundreds of thousands of volunteers each year.

Britain in Bloom covers England, Wales, Scotland, Ulster and the Channel Islands and is managed by the RHS in partnership with different regions and nations.

Each of the Britain in Bloom regions and nations, which run individual Bloom competitions, nominate the highest-performing entries to compete in the UK finals.

Stonehouse in Bloom is in the Small Town category against Frinton in Bloom in Essex and Tidy Randalstown in Ulster in the competition’s 60th anniversary year.

The theme for the notable year is ‘friendship’.

The winners of each Britain in Bloom category will be announced at an awards ceremony in the autumn.

One of Britain in Bloom’s category winners will also go on to be named overall winner for 2024.