It’s that time of year again… Hallmark in Bloom!

All care homes across the Hallmark family compete in a range of categories, vying to have their gardens crowned the greatest!

But it’s not just about a two week competition. Oh no. It’s much more. We see gardening as an activity, one of life’s little pleasures, whether you’re green-fingered or just like being outdoors.  That’s why this year we focused even further on the level of involvement from our residents. Hallmark in Bloom is more than just having the prettiest hanging baskets; it’s about using gardening as a tool to improve the lives of our residents and helping them to continue to live an
active and independent lifestyle. So, although there’s a two week judging period, gardening is very much a year-round activity. Homes are encouraged to record and document the work that goes into making their outdoor spaces special.

The competition will once again be judged by Damien Newman from Thrive – a national gardening charity which promotes the benefits of gardening to the elderly, disabled and disadvantaged. We have been working in partnership with Thrive for three years now and, in that time, have dramatically changed the way our team, residents and their family use our outdoor spaces.

This year’s judging categories are:

Best Gardening Club

Best Resident Engagement

Innovation to Engage Residents Living with Dementia

Best Whole Home Effort

Best Celebration on the Day

Most Improved Outside Space

Best Visual Appeal

Best Recording of Gardening Activity

Best Vegetable Patches and Herb Garden

Most improved overall

Regional champion and Overall champion