Community Garden Project, Transition Town Wellington, in Somerset, has won the first-ever RHS Award for Sustainable Gardening, made possible, in part, by funding from Blue Diamond Garden Centres.

Over 12 months ago, Blue Diamond Garden Centres launched a nationwide community garden competition with the aim to bring the joy of the great outdoors to the heart of communities across the UK by supporting local groups in creating or revitalising community gardens.

Blue Diamond offered £10,000 worth of plants and garden care products—shared equally among five winning community gardens. Each project also received six hours of expert horticultural advice to help them get off to a flourishing start.

Transition Town Wellington was one of the winners and over the past year, Blue Diamond has followed their journey to see how the financial support and practical help and guidance from Blue Diamond,  has helped to transform the garden and enrich the community in that area.

The transformation has been remarkable and on 31 October 2025 at the RHS Britain in Bloom national finals in Brighton, Transition Town Wellington was awarded the first-ever RHS Award for Sustainable Gardening.

Terry Porter, Britain the Bloom Judge (SW), said: “I was amazed at how much Wellington had moved on since I last visited - a vast improvement and the strength of the community groups was impressive. Fox’s Field in particular, is an outstanding achievement: the herb garden, flower garden, picnic area and the vegetable bales, what a great use of resources!”

Anita Roy (Chair) of Transition Town Wellington, Somerset says; “Without the funding from Blue Diamond and others, our group would not be able to function.

Their money has enabled us to buy tools and trees, plants and compost, to host events and publicise our work throughout our community with maps, guidebooks and posters. It has helped us to highlight the positive steps that people can take to help tackle the climate and ecological crises that we all face, in a way that is good for everyone’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

Transition Town Wellington is entirely reliant on grants and on individual donations. We could not survive without funding from supporters like Blue Diamond, and that funding has helped to make a massive, material difference to our lives and our town, inspiring others and spreading a hopeful – and urgent – message about how we all can live more sustainably on this beautiful, fragile, unique and precious planet.

Transition Town Wellington’s impact has had no small part to play in the council’s acquisition of what is now a 6.5-acre green corridor, protected for the community and its wildlife for 150 years! We work in close partnership with our wonderful Town Council to maintain and nurture all our green spaces for the future.”

Sarah Galvin, RHS Head of National Community Programmes, said: "The RHS' commitment to celebrating sustainability in community gardening is vital – by virtue of growing, gardeners are on the front line in creating greener places to live and building climate resilience. Championing groups that put environmental stewardship, climate awareness, and wildlife-friendly practices at the heart of their work highlights these benefits and provides a blueprint for others who can also reap huge rewards with some small changes.”

Jill Kerr, Group Relationship Manager for Blue Diamond Garden Centres says: "Congratulations to Transition Town Wellington’s Community Garden Project on winning the first-ever RHS Award for Sustainable Gardening! This achievement highlights the power of community, innovation, and care for the environment. At Blue Diamond Garden Centres, we’re proud to have supported this inspiring project along with other community projects throughout the UK, which all make a real difference in local communities and the wider world of sustainable gardening."

Read the full story here.

https://www.bluediamond.gg/community-garden-competition