Banstead Village in Bloom 

Following three increasingly successful years and having won the coveted gold award in the RHS Village in Bloom Competition in 2019, Banstead Village in Bloom has decided not to enter the competition for the foreseeable future. Instead, our volunteer group has agreed to continue maintaining and improving on what has been achieved over the last four years to the High Street in Banstead. This work will be done by the volunteer group which meets regularly on a Friday morning. New projects will be agreed upon by the group and committee, and we will seek funding from Reigate and Banstead Council. Banstead Village in Bloom has not ruled out the possibility of entering the RHS In Bloom competition in the future, this decision can of course be revisited at any time if desired.  

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The main areas where work will continue is:

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• Banstead library gardens and planters  

• High Street planters  

• All Saints’ Church open spaces  

• The flowerbeds at the War Memorial roundabout  

• Waitrose flower beds  

• Lady Neville Bowling Club herbaceous border (rear of Pistachio’s)  

• Sleeper beds (opposite The Woolpack pub)  

• Weekly litter picking group  (every Monday morning)

• Adopt a Road litter picking scheme  

• 12 wheelbarrows at village roundabouts  

• Community Hall roundabout (Flower Club)  

• Community Hall flowerbeds (Banstead Horticultural Society)  

• Increase our community profile and encouragement to join in with our very friendly BViB volunteer group  

• Garden at Pistachio's

• Yearly planting if daffodils along Sutton Lane

 

Future projects for 2023

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• Installation of water butts around the village

• Daffodil bulbs to be planted under Banstead's street name signs (BViB funded)

• Installing raised sleeper beds at roundabout flowerbeds

• Second open gardens event in June

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projects completed in 2022

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• Wooden framework erected at War memorial flowerbed

• The addition of 12 benches in the park and High Street

• Field of Daffodils extended for another year and daffodils planted in Chucks Meadow

• The first open gardens event. Highly successful with over 300 visitors raising over £2,500

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projects completed in 2021

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Sensory Garden - With the help of Joanne Winn Garden Design volunteers prepared the neglected flower bed next to Pistachio's in Lady Neville Park. A pathway was installed and a recycled plastic bench placed in the garden. Plants were then planted, these plants were chosen for their sensory value. Lavender has been planted along the walll opposite the playground. The first year was successful, we will be continuing to improve and add to this area. (Reigate & Banstead Council funded)

 

Rockery at All Saints’ Church - This project was a great success, volunteers lifted all the plants that were already in the bed, they potted them up for future use in the bed and other locations, there were a lot of brambles and roots in the ground that volunteers dug out. The soil was improved and a kind local resident donated several large rocks which were positioned on the bed. Some of the planting was returned to the bed and we added alpines, spring bulbs and corms. The rocks have give more stability to the bed and planting. We are looking forward to seeing the result in Spring 2022. (Church funded)  

 

Field of Narcissi - This was extended down to the fence before Sutton Lane roundabout. We look forward to seeing the results in Spring 2022 (BViB funded)  

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Welcome to Banstead ornamental flower display - Hundreds of seeds were planted and grown on to produce the word 'Banstead' in marigolds. This was successful until the marigolds grew too large. We have replaced with winter planting and still hope to see results in Spring 2022. This will be an ongoing project trying various planting ideas. (BViB funded)  

 

New bench at War Memorial - The bench was installed in 2021. Since then two further benches have been installed behind the War Memorial by Probus and The British Legion. (funded by Ken Gulati)

 

Sowing native seed around High Street trees - In 2021 volunteers sowed marigold seeds around all the High Street trees, some were successful, we hope the marigolds will continue to flower and spread. (BViB funded)

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projects completed in 2020

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Field of Narcissi – 2000 bulbs were planted in November 2019. They have produced a beautiful display in both Spring 2020 and 2021. We hope to make the Field of Narcissi even bigger by planting more bulbs in Autumn 2021. We plan to eventually have the whole of the bank planted from Sutton Lane roundabout to the War Memorial. (BViB funded)  

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High Street Planters – a legacy project giving the village a long-lasting splash of colour. Six cast iron planters have been placed at intervals along the north side of the High Street. BViB will continue to maintain them, we have planted perennials for lasting structure and will add summer and winter bedding for a splash of colour. (Reigate & Banstead Council funded)  

 

Renovation of sleeper beds – Banstead Village in Bloom have renovated the two large railway sleeper beds that are at either side of the bus stop, opposite The Woolpack pub. The group worked hard removing the existing old and overgrown shrubs. They improved the soil in both beds, digging in tons of soil improvers. A large selection of unusual locally grown conifers were planted there along with bulbs for spring. (Reigate & Banstead Council funded)  

 

Renovation of large library bed – Old and overgrown shrubs have been removed. All the existing planting was lifted and kept to use in the new planting design for the bed. The soil was enriched and several hundred pounds was spent on new shrubs, perennials and bulbs. Spring 2021 has seen the first results of our volunteer’s hard work. The spring bulbs look a picture in creams and white. (Reigate & Banstead Council funded)  

 

New seating, tables and umbrellas at Pistashio’s café – Old and tired seating has been replaced by lightweight and hard-wearing furniture to improve the look of this very popular area. Banstead Village Residents Association donated extra money to buy new umbrellas. (Reigate & Banstead Council funded)