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Two-and-a-half years ago, I moved to a small village called Chipping, nestled at the edge of the Bowland Fells in Lancashire. I was new to the area and knew no-one.

鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 difficult meeting new neighbours 鈥� will we get on, what will they think of me, are they nosey? I needn鈥檛 have worried, ours are perfect; helpful, kind, thoughtful and respectful. I hope they think of me the same way!鈥�

Having discovered my interest in gardening, one of my neighbours suggested I come along to a Chipping in Bloom meeting. I went, not sure what to expect, and found a small group of dedicated people focused on making our village a better place to live and visit.

As I became more involved, I discovered that the Chipping in Bloom group enters North West in Bloom every year but from what I saw of the group鈥檚 activities, that wasn鈥檛 their primary purpose.

I have been involved with Britain in Bloom before while working for a local authority. Chipping was different 鈥� it wasn鈥檛 a group created and supported by a local authority, and it has very little grant funding.

鈥淚nstead, I found a group of friends, who welcomed me for who I am. As I still work, I don鈥檛 have a lot of spare time for gardening but there were plenty of things I can do to help the group, like writing letters or press releases or helping with drawings and displays.鈥�

Last year, I had to have emergency surgery and wasn鈥檛 well for a while. Then my husband was ill and in hospital for over two months. All the way through that difficult time, my neighbours and friends from Chipping in Bloom were kind and supportive. I am struggling for words to express how much they helped me, and how grateful I am to them for quietly and unfussily being there when I needed a rock to cling to.

鈥淐hipping in Bloom has given me a purpose, and the people involved offer true friendship.鈥�

I found this quote 鈥� that I think summarises it perfectly:

鈥淔riendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world.鈥�

鈥� John Evelyn, English writer, gardener and diarist, 1620-1706

In 2024, Chipping in Bloom was selected to represent the North West region in the UK Finals of Britain in Bloom. For me, this is justified not only by how lovely the village looks, but by how warm and welcoming the people involved are, and how gardening is helping friendships to blossom and thrive.