Shrewsbury is overall Heart of England in Bloom winner for 2026, with RHS Gold and a second Dingle trophy, so it goes to the Britain in Bloom final in 2027.

Shrewsbury has been named the overall winner of Heart of England in Bloom for 2026. It took four awards in all, and the regional title means the town will represent the Heart of England at the national Britain in Bloom awards in 2027.

The results were announced on Thursday 22 October at a ceremony at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern. Shrewsbury Town Council published the results the same day.

The four awards

  • Overall Winner for the Heart of England in Bloom region
  • Small City category winner
  • RHS Gold award
  • Mike Garwood Memorial Trophy, a discretionary award for outstanding horticultural achievement, won by The Dingle

It is the second year running that The Dingle has taken the Garwood trophy. The council said judges last year praised its move towards more sustainable planting, including palm trees in the flower beds.

How this year compares

Last year Shrewsbury came away from the same ceremony with three awards: a gold in the Small City/City category and the Garwood trophy among them, according to Shrewsbury in Bloom. It went on to win an RHS Gold at the 2025 Britain in Bloom finals, where the Small City/City category was won by Aberdeen.

This year’s result goes one better. The overall regional title is what earns a place in the national final.

What the judges saw

The committee changed the judging route this year to show the judges different parts of town. The council said the tour took in:

  • Column Allotments, named Aldi’s Community Allotment of the Year in 2025
  • Riverside Gardens, seen while the landscaping was still under way
  • Weeping Cross Nursery, where the town council grows more than 330,000 plants a year
  • the council’s new street cleaning team
  • the Stepping Up team, which has been opening up footpaths across the town

Riverside Gardens has since opened to the public, six weeks early. Now that Morgan Sindall has finished the landscaping, the council’s horticultural team is preparing to plant the gardens over the coming month.

What they said

Stuart Farmer, chairman of the Shrewsbury in Bloom Committee, thanked the committee, council staff and volunteers. “We’re excited to have the opportunity to represent the Heart of England region at Britain in Bloom in 2027, where we have a lot more to show,” he said.

Councillor Alex Wagner chairs the town council’s Operations Committee. He said The Dingle’s award showed “how we can continue to deliver outstanding displays, even during much drier summers, through more sustainable approaches to planting.”

What it means for you

  • The Dingle, in the Quarry park, is free to visit and is the display that won the trophy two years running.
  • Riverside Gardens is open now, and its planting will go in over the next few weeks.
  • Shrewsbury in Bloom runs on volunteers and sponsorship. Its website lists how to get involved, and it says its 2026/27 sponsorship options will be announced soon.