The 300 year-old historic Sunbury Walled Garden, in Surrey, has been declared the overall winner in the Small Park category for the fourth year running in the South & South East in Bloom Awards.

This was despite a deluge of rain earlier in the year that destroyed the range of rose beds.

Part of Britain in Bloom, the panel of judges for South and South East in Bloom announced the winner from the hundreds of entries at Fareham last week.

Spelthorne Council’s cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Tony Mitchell thanked the contractor Lotus Landscapes, one of the UK’s most respected landscaping companies, and the Council’s Neighbourhood Services team.

“We had a pretty torrid Spring, when a deluge of rain fought a war on the roses.” explained Byron Crofton, Head of Sales at Lotus Landscapes. “You are never told when the judges will visit the parks or gardens, so our team, led by Michael Codd, would start mornings at 5am to try and repair the damage from the storms. I’m delighted and relieved that their immense hard work has been recognised by winning the Gold Award along with the overall winner for Small Parks.

“Sunbury Walled Garden is a horticultural gem, with a spectacular range of trees, roses, lavender, lupins and other plants, all contained within a two-acre site. The park is top-rated on Trip Advisor, and is an excellent example of how an old and neglected garden can be revived with a combination of council, community and contractor support.” Concludes Mr Crofton.

Lotus Landscapes are also the contractors for Sunbury and Staines Cemeteries, which retained their Silver Gilt Award status.

The garden houses the Sunbury Millennium Embroidery that celebrates the ancient village of Sunbury-on-Thames and its community. Inspected by the Queen in 2001, it required over 150 local embroiderers, and one hundred thousand hours of effort.