RHS Judges today visited Sefton to start looking at the entries for this year's competition.
This year Barford House Apartments were added to the list of gardens for the judges to visit.
I am very pleased to say they were delighted with the garden and all the floral displays.
Despite the current financial restraints on the council, there have been lot's of innovative volunteer work taking place to get all the bids looking fantastic.
Green fingered community groups, volunteers and local steering groups, with help from Sefton Council's landscape services department, all got involved to spruce up the area across the borough for the " It's Your Neighbourhood " categories.
TAKE in the sights of our town on free open bus tours this summer.
The Merseyside Transport Trust (MTT) is pleased to announce that it will be operating circular open top tours of Southport during the holiday season.
These tours will be provided entirely by volunteers.
Starting from the traditional location of Southport Pier, the tours will operate as a free-of-charge circular service taking in the sights of Southport, on a tour that has proved a popular tourist attraction for many decades.
Picking up where Arriva left off in 2011, the tours are to be operated using historic Leyland Atlanteans that have been operating these tours in past years and are now in preservation; 1449 (GKA 449L) and 1551 (OLV 551M).
A closed top vehicle will be substituted in adverse weather conditions.
The tours take in beautiful Southport attractions as the Marine Lake, Marine Bridge, Royal Birkdale Golf Course, Hesketh Park, Lord Street Boulevard and the Botanic Gardens.
Andy Rigby, trustee of MMT, said: “We thought it was shame that the people of Southport and visitors to the area were missing out on open top bus tours.
“We are hoping it will be an appealing attraction to those visiting Southport.
“We’ve picked an enjoyable route to show off the town.
“The tours are free and it’s nice to provide a service for people.”
The operation of the tours will start on Sunday, July 29 and will run every Sunday through to Sunday, August 26. This includes August Bank Holiday Monday on August 27.
Departures are timetabled for 12noon, 1.30pm and 3pm from Southport Pier, in front of the carousel.
For more information
WWT Martin Mere has been shortlisted for two Lancashire Tourism Awards through Marketing Lancashire. The awards celebrate Lancashire’s tourism industry.
Martin Mere has been shortlisted for the following:
Best Large Attraction.
Shortlisted because of continual investment in new award winning attractions such as the canoe safari, boat tours and brand new play area as well as wildlife spectacles through the wintering swans and geese and spring ducklings – making Martin Mere a unique attraction for all ages to enjoy.
Sustainable Tourism Award.
Shortlisted for our continual commitment to sustainable transport including the creation of trails to link local attractions and to reduce car travel to the centre as well as a commitment to educating visitors on how to live more sustainably and to attract wildlife to gardens, and providing best practice techniques on making Martin Mere an eco-attraction.
Centre Manager, Andy Wooldridge, said: “I am absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for two awards this year. These awards are fantastic for giving staff and volunteers a sense of pride in the centre and it is great to know that the investment we have made at Martin Mere in new facilities has really helped towards making us an attraction that can compete to be one of the best in the North West. To win one of these awards means that we have offered a great value for money day out as well as outstanding customer service and I am hopeful that we will do very well this year.”
The winners of the awards will be announced in September
As we move into the full swing of summer and start to make the most of our gardens, it's important to still maintain and look after them, what ever size or state. The Southport Flower Show's Show Garden Exec. Michele Martin, has compiled a selection of top tips for keeping your gardens tip-top this July:
1. Water your hanging baskets and containers at least once a day, twice a day when it's particularly hot. If they've dried out totally, they can be rescued by floating them in a bucket of water, until the bubbles have stopped and they’ve sunk below the surface of the water. Once drained off the plants will be right as rain, as long as they’re still alive.
2. Remember to feed your plants. The compost you used in April and May will be running short of nutrients by July, so add some when you water. For flowering and fruiting plants you need a high potash feed, such as tomato fertiliser, mixed in with the water according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Encourage more flowers by removing dead and dying flower heads. If you leave dead flower heads on the plants they will set seed, meaning that the plants will think they’ve produced the next generation and stop making more flowers. With annual flowers like sweet peas, the more flowers you pick, the more the plant produces.
4. Look out for pests and diseases. Often you can nip a problem in the bud (literally in the case of aphids) if you spot it early enough. This pest patrol gives you a great excuse to wander round your garden on balmy evenings with a glass in hand.
5. This is the perfect time to sow any quick maturing salad crops, like lettuce, rocket or peas, for a late crop before autumn and winter sets in.
6. Visit other gardens for ideas and inspiration – the National Gardens scheme and the National Trust offer the chance to combine garden visiting with opportunities for tea and cake. A perfect recipe for a summer’s day out.
7. Take photographs of your garden while it's in full bloom, so you have a record of what’s growing where. Then in the autumn and spring you can remind yourself what needs moving, dividing or digging up and recycling.
8. Propagate herbs from cuttings. It’s a great way to save money as most herbs such as sage, rosemary & thyme are not long lived plants.
9. Water your vegetables every day, especially courgettes, marrows and pumpkins, which need a lot of water to grow. Early evening or early morning is best, as you lose less water in evaporation. Water the soil not the plants, to avoid soggy foliage which promotes fungal diseases such as mildew.
10. Order your Southport Flower show tickets in advance and use the savings to treat yourself to a new plant. Dates are 16-19th August so make sure it’s in your diary.
General tickets prices for the show have been frozen for the third year running, with advance tickets costing just £16 per person. For more up to date information on the show, celebrity announcements, details on how to enter the many competitions, and ticket bookings visit www.southportflowershow.co
This years Ainsdale Show will be 100th anniversary of the first show in 1912.Opening this years spectacular will be the BBC One Show gardener Christine Walkden.
Welcome to my blog page, I own Barford House holiday apartments in Southport with my Husband Kevin. We bought the business on the 1st April 2008 and from day one we have taken it on a long journey, every apartment has undergone refurbishment, the house looks great! We offer five holiday apartments in all - two of which are ground floor apartments. All are self contained and furnished to a high standard. Whether you want to stay for a week or a weekend give us a call and we will try our best to accommodate you. We offer discounts for OAP's, we welcome Families, Conference delegates, Golfers and overseas visitors. We do not take hen and stag parties sorry. Barford has many regulars who return two and three times a year this speaks volumes to us. My passion is gardening as you can see from the photos of Barfords gardens. I attended an RHS gardening course for 18 months and passed with a distinction. I have entered the gardens into Sefton In Bloom, North West In Bloom for the last three years and the Southport Flower show winning each one. I was awarded Best In Show 2013 & 2014.
KINGS GARDENS CONCERTS 2012
