WINNERS of the 2026 Malmesbury in Bloom competition have been honoured by the town mayor after residents and local children were celebrated for bringing colour and joy to the town over the summer months.
The overall winner across all categories in this year’s competition was Ceridwen Owen who took the top prize for her outstanding floral display in her small garden in Snell Avenue.
She said: “To receive first prize for my small garden was praise enough, especially having designed and built it from scratch. To receive the Malmesbury in Bloom’s overall winner, was incredibly encouraging, with so many categories, involving so many from the Malmesbury gardening community, I still can’t quite believe it happened.”
The annual competition had a revamp this year with additional categories and the introduction of a sunflower growing competition for children and young people. New garden categories were added to encourage children and budding gardeners to take part: young gardeners (aged eight to 18) and another for newer gardens under three years old.
The Malmesbury in Bloom competition was launched in May in conjunction with St Aldhelm’s Fayre weekend, and the EAT festival and was also opened up to gardens in the surrounding area and villages. Judging took place in July and was done by Jamie Johnstone and Claire Matthews, co-chairs of Malmesbury Garden Club; Diana D’Arcy, co-chair of U3A Garden Club and Andy Spreadbury, Abbey Manor Head Gardener.
For children and young people the sunflower growing competition was all about the tallest flowers in three age categories: five and under, ten and under, and 11 to 16-year-olds. This competition was launched in June when seeds were collected from from Malmesbury Market Cross or the Town Hall. Seeds and compost were donated by Malmesbury Garden Centre.
Cllr Helean Hughes, who chairs Malmesbury In Bloom and St Aldhelm’s Fayre said the idea behind the garden and sunflower growing competitions was to get more people involved.
“We wanted to inspire and encourage the next generation of gardeners. It’s not just about the most manicured lawn and borders; it’s about celebrating the joy of growing something from scratch and bringing a splash of colour to our beautiful town and its surrounding villages.”
This year over 40 gardens were entered in the competition and prizes were handed out by town mayor Cllr Robert Hastings.
Cllr Hughes, added:
“The level of participation this year was outstanding and the committee had a hard job judging those who entered. We are so lucky to have so many wonderful gardeners in and around our town who spend hours ensuring our community is colourful and vibrant.”
Malmesbury in Bloom is an annual competition for the town’s residents, businesses and organisations to create appealing, beautiful and engaging gardens or community spaces. The competition is popular with many individuals and organisations as well as children invited to grow sunflowers. This year saw five new sponsors: Toy Expert which sponsored the new Young Gardener category: The Malmesbury Wine Shop Company the New Garden category; Lesley and Martin Crawford- Price sponsored the Courtyard category; St Paul’s Without Parish Council sponsored the Beyond Malmesbury category and Mirror Mirror sponsored the Street and Road Area category.
The category winners of Malmesbury in Bloom 2026:
· Best Business Garden – Michael’s Deli based in The Triangle.
· Best Garden Beyond Malmesbury – Suzanne Thompson of Jasmine Cottage of Easton Grey.
· Best Courtyard Garden – Keith Player The Maltings.
· Best Large Garden – Nicola Hope of Avon Road.
· Best New Build Garden – Sarah Brudenell, of Iles Close.
· Best Small Garden – Ceridwen Owen of Snell Avenue.
· Best Street/Road Area – William Lodge of Gloucester Road.
· Best Vegetable Plot – Maurice Cleaver and Mike Whateley of Bristol Street.
· Best Young Person’s Garden – Lea & Garsdon Primary School, of The Street.
· Best Sustainable Gardener – Jen & Rob Stringer, of Haddon Close.
· Best Wildflower Garden – Eve Wheeler-Jones of Bonnes Avenue
· Best Window Boxes/Hanging Baskets – Janet Evans of The Maltings.
· Super Gardener – Dee Jordan of Glover Court
· Best Overall Garden for 2026 – Ceridwen Owen of Snell Avenue.
Winners of the children’s sunflower competition were:
· Tallest sunflower from children aged five and under – Ralphie Anderson
· Tallest sunflower from children aged ten and under – Evie & Edward Smith
Photograph by Richard Harris
