Ribble Valley’s RHS Heritage Cup winning community group

Whalley in Bloom was established in 2011 by Michael Wedgworth as a not-for-profit voluntary community association. The community group is part of the RHS Affiliated Society scheme, and the members met each Friday for planting, pruning, weeding, propagating, picking up litter, removing plant waste, maintaining equipment and watering.

Since entering the RHS scheme, Whalley in Bloom has claimed a variety of awards. In 2015, they claimed gold in the RHS's Small-Town Category, the RHS’ in Bloom award for Best In The Northwest and the community award for their efforts in helping the community following flooding in 2015. And in 2023, Whalley in Bloom secured the RHS Heritage Cup, recognising the community group's efforts to highlight and preserve the history and heritage of the village.

Even though the community group only enters the RHS in Bloom competitions biannually, due to the size of the group, it has remained immensely successful. 2025 saw Whalley in Bloom secure the gold medal for the best Small Town in the Northwest, awards for Best Kept Village, Best Urban Community and recommendations for St Mary’s churchyard and Whalley railway station. From starting as Wedgworth’s brainchild, the project has been a tremendous success, but what does Lord think gave him the inspiration to launch the initiative?

“I would just be speculating. But I think it was just a case of other towns and villages doing it. And we became members of Royal RHS, the Royal Horticultural Society. And then they have little campaigns like 'green up' grey areas and schools and churches,” Lord stated.

“And so that's why along the way we have won medals and things and gold here and there for those particular aspects of gardening at the school and at the church. And then, as I mentioned, after the floods were over, we had a lot to do. So we decided we wouldn't compete. We would just get the village back up and running as it had been. Because there was complete devastation in Whalley during the floods. I mean, gardens just taken out completely; it's just mud, you know. So we did a lot of work there. And then the following year when we competed, we got the environmental awards and community award,” Lord concluded.

For the 38 who volunteer as part of the Whalley in Bloom initiative, there’s seemingly a win-win element in being able to help the community and also get the opportunity to socialise and connect with others simultaneously. “I mean, some of them, to be honest, they've joined not to be gardeners,” Jean Lord, Whalley in Bloom’s media officer, said.

“They've joined because they wanted to be part of a group of some sort. So they're not expert gardeners. I mean, none of us are what you might call experts, you know. So they joined for the community aspect of it. And in actual fact, we've had people join who were for medical purposes, you know, for their well-being. Doctors have sort of recommended that that's what they do. And it absolutely works. There's nothing like gardening to take your mind off whatever is worrying you or whatever,” Lord added.

Recently, the community group has seen a bit of an overhaul in its structure after Val Clark, Whalley in Bloom’s long-time chairperson, stepped down after succeeding Wedgworth in the role back in 2018, but in Lord’s admission, the change has provided the opportunity to freshen things up. “She had been chair for like seven years, so it was time to change along with the secretary who'd also been there seven years,” Lord admitted. “So we've got a new, we've got new officials now, which is good because you get new ideas. You can get stuck in the same routine,” Lord finished.