Donaghmore Horticultural Community strikes gold at Britain in Bloom awards - again!

FOR the fifth year in a row, the hard-working volunteers of Donaghmore Horticultural Community have secured a gold medal in the RHS Britain in Bloom competition.

Working tirelessly throughout the year, the volunteers of the society are delighted to have achieved this respectable award once more for their dedication to upkeep the streets of Donaghmore.

The Courier spoke to Sammy Wilson, founder member and long-standing chairman of Donaghmore Horticultural Community, about what the award means to him and the volunteers.

“To win any of these awards from Best Village to an MBE, it’s a really big thing for us,” he said.

“We have about 12 volunteers helping across the village and we are out working every week throughout the year. Awards always keep us on our toes and we are always doing our best to meet the judges’ criteria.”

Sammy discussed his pride in the group’s awards throughout the year and what goes into achieving the titles they have acquired.

“We have won a lot of awards over the years including the Green Flag Award five years in a row as well as ‘Ulster in Bloom’.”

“There are a lot of things that inspire us to keep going- whether that’s good feedback on Facebook, local people giving us orange juice and biscuits while we work or hearing that new-build houses have been bought up because estate agents are referencing our work and describing the area as a ‘desired village to live in’.

“We are indebted to Mid Ulster District Council, NILGA and the Housing Executive for their help in achieving our awards and we really appreciate what they have done for us.”

Asides from winning countless awards, the horticultural community are also heavily involved in the general upkeep of the village, including weeding footpaths, painting buildings and setting up a special solar-powered water feature for the community to enjoy.

The group also works alongside the local primary schools to share insights into wildlife, flowers and offer hands-on activities. They have recently unveiled a wildlife pond at the allotments in the village where children have had the opportunity to watch tadpoles develop into frogs. They also provide pupils with practical flower-planting workshops, educational talks and information sessions on the work of bee-keepers in Donaghmore.

Helping the local community remains a vocal part of the group’s aims in the village and Sammy explained how they are able to give back to the people who support them.

“We grow a lot of fruit and vegetables in our allotments and when we have surplus we will offer the produce to local pensioners living in Donaghmore. It means we aren’t wasting anything and we can share our locally grown vegetables.”

The Horticultural Community is also responsible for the beautiful Christmas lights which shine in Donaghmore every Christmas.

The group also received good news last week as they picked up the keys to their new premises on Donaghmore Main Street.

Sammy said: “We’ve just got the keys to the building and we have plans to put a cabinet at the window to display all of our awards to the village. We were previously based in the Torrent so it’s nice to have our own place now.”

An open day was held in August to welcome new and existing volunteers to the community allotments located at St Joseph’s Grammar school, Donaghmore. Local businesses supported the day through donating raffle prizes and St Joseph’s Grammar, the Torrent Complex and Oliver Rafferty were thanked for supplying equipment.

If you would like to learn more or get involved with Donaghmore Horticultural Community, feel free to contact their Facebook page at ‘Donaghmore Horticultural Community’ for more information.