Chesterfield in Bloom
Chesterfield in Bloom is our year-round campaign involving residents, businesses, schools, community groups and a wide range of volunteers.
Our aim is to involve more people in improving their local area, the environment and the character of Chesterfield, and we aim to make our town a cleaner and greener place to live, work and visit.
Our award-winning borough prides itself on the innovative displays you will see in parks, traffic islands and roundabouts. Over the years we have worked hard to improve the appearance of the borough as a place to live, work and visit.
We encourage local neighbourhoods to get active in improving their own areas of Chesterfield.
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If your garden is brimming with plants and colour, you grow your own vegetables, or if it is beautifully landscaped or full of wildlife, we would love to see it. You don’t have to be green fingered to enter the competition.
You can only enter two categories - everyone who takes part is automatically entered for the best overall garden judging.
Chesterfield is entering the East Midlands in Bloom competition and your garden could be in the judging tour. Closing date for all entries is Friday 17 June.
Judging will take place on Wednesday 20 July 2022, we will contact you to arrange a convenient time when we can visit.
Chesterfield in Bloom categories
There are three different categories for Chesterfield in Bloom 2022.
Allotments
There is a thriving allotment community in Chesterfield and we would like to encourage our growers to enter the Chesterfield in Bloom competition and show off their blooming allotments.
So give it a go and enter your allotment plot. Details about the categories, guidance on the judging criteria and how to enter is explained below.
Why you should get involved
Entering the competition will show your support for:
- Promoting the health, quality of life and socially inclusive benefits of allotment gardening
- Encouraging the biodiversity of plants and wildlife
- Taking pride in your local community and supporting the Borough through the raising of standards on your allotment site.
Who can enter
The allotment competition is open to all Allotment Associations and their members within the Chesterfield borough boundary.
Competition categories
Best kept individual allotment plot (150m2 and above)
Best kept individual allotment plot (less than 150m2)
Tenants
If your garden is brimming with plants and colour, you grow your own vegetables, or you have a hanging basket that you are really proud of, we would love to see it.
You don’t have to be green fingered to enter the competition.
We would encourage anyone to enter as showcasing what you do in your garden to other people can be really rewarding.
The competition is open to all Chesterfield Borough Council housing tenants and is free and easy to enter.
The deadline for applications is Friday 17 June and judging is being held on Wednesday 20 July 2022.
Competition entry forms
You can print and fill in these entry forms to enter Chesterfield in Bloom 2022.
| In Bloom 2022 Entry Form |  (PDF 493 KB) |
| Allotment Entry Form 2022 | (PDF 1.49 MB) |
| Tenant Entry Form 2022 | (PDF 2.46 MB) |
Our popular competition for residents called ‘Chesterfield’s Still Blooming’ aims to find the best sunflowers in the borough.
There are three categories for which participants can be awarded:
- Tallest sunflower - from the top of the soil to the top of the flower (please make sure your picture is taken next to a tape measure)
- Largest sunflower - the largest flower head based on diameter or width (please make sure your picture is taken next to a ruler or tape measure)
- Most flowers on one plant– the plant with the most flower heads (please try to make sure all flower heads are visible in your photo)
To enter, please send a picture of your sunflower, stating your name and the category you want to enter to green.spaces@chesterfield.gov.uk.
Chesterfield’s Still Blooming runs until Sunday 13 September 2022. Winners are given a special certificate and will have the satisfaction of knowing they grew the best sunflower in the borough.
Whilst growing your flowers, you can also keep children engaged by encouraging them to to start a plant diary and track the growth of their sunflower.This is also a good way of teaching them about how plants grow and what they need to survive. The council will be awarding special certificates for the most creative growth diaries. Please send pictures or copies of your growth diaries along with your entry to green.spaces@chesterfield.gov.uk.
April and May are the best time to start to grow your sunflowers indoors before moving them outside ready to bloom by late summer.
The council will announce the winners on social media and share some of the best pictures from the competition. You can follow the council on Facebook and on Twitter.
Find out more about how to grow Sunflowers on the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) website.
Sponsoring Chesterfield in Bloom
Local businesses take pride in supporting the Chesterfield in Bloom campaign and helping to improve the town.
A wide range of opportunities are available, including tree sponsorship, hanging basket sponsorship, sponsoring a whole park and the popular traffic island sponsorship.