AN award-winning volunteer gardening group in Lymm is set to make a bog garden, in an attempt to improve water use management following last summer’s drought.

And it is calling on more people to join its campaign.

Lymm in Bloom is getting the village ready for the Britain in Bloom: North West 2019 awards, and among other projects a bog garden will be created in Ridgway Grundy Memorial Park.

A bog garden uses permanently moist soil, exploiting areas with naturally poor drainage to cultivate plants suited to this kind of environment – without the need of additional water.

The community gardening project, which looks after flowers and plants in several areas of the village such as the Sunken Garden in the centre of Lymm and Lymm Dam, won the past two editions of the award.

Lymm in Bloom chairman Ben Selwood said: “We have made great progress since we started seven years ago.

“Back then, some of the weeds in Sunken Garden were four feet high.

“Now we have thinned out the shrubs, painted and cleaned the street furniture, weeded and planted the garden.”

The group relies on volunteers, and after thanking all the people involved, Mr Selwood added: “We need to recruit volunteers to keep the momentum going, now we are well established.

“The village does not plant and water itself, all the planting in the village is done and looked after by volunteers.”

Lymm in Bloom is also appealing to businesses around the village to create bloom-themed window displays over the summer, when the judging takes place, to help winning the award.

Further projects include new flower beds in Ridgway Grundy and a woodland walk.

Lymm in Bloom volunteers also run a gardening club at Statham Community Primary School and help maintaining the grounds at St Peter’s Church.

The group meets every last Sunday in the month at 10:30am in Sunken Garden.

n More information can be found on lymminbloom.btck.uk.