A potted history of the group
The very first MHiB was in 1996 when there were just six hanging baskets in the town. Working with parks staff, increasing the number of volunteers and local support - including Gartree Prison - and local business sponsorship helped the initiative grow. It was not long before there were as many as 120 hanging baskets and over 20 planters in town.
Market Harborough In Bloom has a lot of success in East Midlands and Britain In Bloom competitions – see the Awards We Have Won section for the highlights of each year.
The initiative very quickly gained a good reputation in the town, so much so that it was included in the Millennium Tapestry that hangs in the council building.
In 2001 in response to the judges’ report from the previous year, six beds at the entrance to the town were enlarged and about 200 floral displays were now on view including 38 new lamppost baskets in St Mary’s Road. The almost completed Millennium Mile made a good impression and was given a Judges Award.
In 2002 as part of the Golden Jubilee, red and gold themed beds were created in Welland Park. An elevated bed showed a crown and 1952-2002 in carpet bedding.
In 2003 the criteria for entry were changed and the field was widened. The judges were impressed by the level of community involvement. Gartree prisoners had planted up many of the plants and made a hand cart which formed a focal point for one of the beds. Beavers had planted a new bed and border for the rose garden and there was evidence of sponsored planters. The dog walk and recycling efforts of the council were also praised. The first of three movies about Market Harborough in Bloom were created by the Moviemakers.
In 2004 the design of one of the flower beds in the park replicated a window in St Dionysius Church.
In 2005 a Market Harborough Moviemakers film entitled 'Going for Gold' covered the awards ceremony.
In 2006 as part of some World Environment Day funding, 210 schoolchildren worked with an artist and created insects out of recyclable materials which were part of the park display. A movie made this year covered this initiative.
In 2008 MHiB provided planters for the new Aldi roundabout.
In 2009 MHiB took part in the carnival and also won a Royal Horticultural Society Heritage Award. A Churches Together group worked on a flowerbed around a cart.
In 2010 fundraising raised £14,000 and it helped restore the rose garden in Welland Park with volunteers planting more than 600 rose bushes. A fountain was installed as well as a pergola and a knot garden was started.
In 2011 MHiB won a gold award and in 2012 MHiB volunteers were all awarded a Queens Award for volunteering for the floral displays and removal of litter. Schoolchildren from seven schools designed and painted the planters in the town centre.
In 2013 the 'In Bloom' theme lent itself to edible plants and these were incorporated into the many planters around the town.
In 2014 MHiB won a gold award and was 1st in its category for the first time in ten years. Beavers planted sunflowers which were incorporated into planters and planted at the railway station.
The Welland Rivers Trust completed major works on the 1.8km stretch of the river through Market Harborough removing weirs, constructing berms, digging pools and gravel shallows
In 2015 aided by a generous grant from MH & Bowdens Charity we started replacing the old planters in town with blue recycled plastic planters with reservoirs. We offered sponsorship to local businesses which helped enormously with our fund raising. We also purchased a water bowser to help with watering the town planters and won another Gold medal.
2016 saw our 20th anniversary and we celebrated by planting the old Grammar School planter with a ‘china’ tea cup. It was a highly successful year with another Gold medal and large town winners in East Midlands in Bloom. Our success continued with a fabulous Gold in Britain in Bloom.
In 2017 with help from Tesco Bags for Help and FCC we planted 12 specimen trees and 18,000 bulbs to create a mini arboretum behind the tennis courts in Welland Park. We also acquired the de-commissioned red phone box on the High St. We were awarded another Gold in EMiB competition along with Gold medals for Stamps and The Three Swans and our Scotland Road front garden entry won the Constable front garden competition.
We decided in 2018 to start using peat free compost in all our planters and for our nursery work. We couldn’t include the railway station on the judges route as the line speed improvement works had started and our platform planters were removed. We altered our judges route to start at the Canal basin and end in Welland Park. It must have worked as we received another Gold medal and the Least Littered Environment award.
In 2019 we introduced wildflowers at the station car park entrance and changed our summer planting to include more pollinator friendly plants. We bought our own gazebo for various events we attend. Railway trolleys that were on the station platform were unearthed from the Network Rail yard ready to be refurbished. Another Gold in East Midlands in Bloom.
March 2020 saw the first of many lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic. Our work stopped and we cancelled our plug plant order. When we were able to recommence we planted up the central town planters with plants mostly grown from seed and watered them ourselves. All competitions were cancelled although we did receive a Certificate of Recognition from the RHS in recognition of the planting we had been able to achieve.
2021 was a busy year - we introduced a new spraying regime for the rose garden avoiding any chemicals harmful to bees and birds. We planted new beds around the Bowls Pavilion with mixed planting of roses and perennials and HDC planted up the first wildflower area in the park. Refurbished railway trolleys and newly built planters were re-instated at the station. We won Gold plus judges awards for St Luke’s & the wildflowers in Welland Park.
In 2022 we successfully applied for substantial grants from Community Rail Network and East Midlands Railway to fund new barrier boxes for the station platform railings. We also replaced most of our blue planters in the town centre with hardwood planters incorporating water reservoirs. 14 of the decommissioned blue planters were moved to the railway station with 5 donated to the Innovation Centre. We achieved another Gold medal and won the Large Town category. We organised a volunteer trip to RHS Bridgewater.
In 2023 we were invited to enter the Britain in Bloom competition. We had a busy year starting with re-skinning our polytunnel thanks to the Lions club. We returned to the station on our judges route which won a Judges Award (tbc). FCC replaced the soil in six of the rose beds and we started under planting roses with perennials. The fountain in the rose garden was removed to make way for installation of a flagpole and a new rose bed to commemorate the King’s Coronation. We achieved another Gold medal and retained the Large Town winners trophy. Stamps won Gold and the Best Business/Retail award and Ridgeway School won a silver medal and Best Schools Ornamental Garden for their new sensory garden. We also won Gold in Britain in Bloom. We ran trips for volunteers to Trentham Gardens and RHS Harlow Carr.
In 2024 we replaced the old wooden circular planter behind the Old Grammar School with a new hardwood octagonal planter as part of the Cultural Quarter improvements. We introduced sponsorship of the barrels along St Mary’s Road. We held two coffee mornings in March and November to raise funds. We won another Gold and the Large Town category in EMiB for the 3rd year running. Trips to Chippenham Park and RHS Hyde Hall were very successful.
In 2025 the Rotary Club planter by the Old Town Hall was replaced with a new hardwood planter. Our new composting clamping in Welland Park was created to enable recycling of the green waste from the park back into the park. Work on the bell tower in the rose garden was completed and a new commemorative information board installed. The new Friendship Park on Northampton Road was completed and volunteers planted hedging and bulbs. We won Gold again and retained the Large Town trophy. Our front garden entry on Rutland Walk achieved a gold award and we constructed 14 new planters from sleepers at the station. We ran volunteer trips to Winterbourne House & Garden, Bressingham and Anglesey Abbey and managed to squeeze in a canal boat trip.
2002 flower bed
Church window bed
Mill tapestry
Mill tapestry - detail
Mill tapestry - detail
Recycled insects
Recycled insects
Churches together barrow
Starting the knot garden
Knot garden finished
