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Floral Displays
 Coventry's colourful flowerbeds and open spaces are important in leaving a positive, lasting impression to the many visitors to the city, providing a wide variety of diverse floral displays and multi-cultural planting to accommodate any businesses or residential spatial in and around Coventry. This year we are proud to be celebrating our Roots in History, and are reflecting these monumental phases throughout Coventry’s fascinating heritage by utilising the green spaces to present a wide variety of planting and colour to enrich and build on our community spirit.
 Coventry has always ensured that its complementation of colour and landscaping projects make a lasting impact on both its residents and businesses alike, and with a continued focus on planting delightful, seasonal container selections and sustainable bedding developments, particularly around the city centre, the colourful bloom this year has been used to successfully enhance the buildings and architecture that makes up the cities heritage design.
 Plants are sourced locally, from Leasowe’s Nursery, which is managed by the City Council and certain exotic flavours, such as agave, canna and palms are chosen to create a subtle interaction with that of the floral statues and bedding which are developed along the eastern arterial route through the city.
Hardy and good quality plants are selected to help define hard landscaped areas, and add a varying amount of colour, value for money and coverage for the location. Self dead-heading geraniums that require little water have been chosen for hanging baskets and planters to minimise the need for maintenance and frequent watering.
 Central reservation barrier troughs are planted up with species adapted to meet the requirements of the harsh winds and hottest sun traps, with exotic plantings incorporated into the schemes along with gravel, sand, cobbles and slate.
Regular grass cutting and litter picking activities ensure that these
roadside areas are maintained all year round.
Hardy and good
quality plants are selected to help define hard landscaped areas and add
a varying amount of colour, value for money and coverage for the
location. Self dead-hading geraniums that require little water have been
chosen for hanging baskets and planters to minimise the need for
maintenance and frequent watering.
The containers and hanging baskets that delicately droop over our bustling high streets are adopted for the sole purpose of enriching and enhancing our commercial and business sites, with long trailing plants and colourful petunias selected for the most effective measure of display. We also ensure that our containers and baskets contain water reservoirs, allowing plants to survive and prosper in the full glare of the sun, with twice-weekly watering.
Floral beds in Greyfriars Green use water feeding systems that drip feed the plants every evening, reducing the amount of water used but providing a suitable growing environment for the bloom displays.
 This year, to celebrate Roots in History, we have enriched our Greyfriars site with a Helter Skelter floral design, watch bed and ribbon site.
By 1860, nearly a hundred watchmakers were employing more than 2000
people in the city, making Coventryone of three national centres for the trade in this country.
We have also planted a ribbon bed site this year to continue the
heritage celebrations.
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As part of our continual commitment to providing Coventry with summer displays throughout the entire season, our feature displays and contributions include:
- 230 square precinct planters
- 488 barrels
- 275 baskets
- 73 troughs
- 120 barrier troughs
- 50,200 bedding plants
- 210 lamp post wrap-around baskets
- 300 barrier plants
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Throughout Coventry many businesses and commercial premises have supported or sponsored many floral displays, baskets and planters in and around their locations, with a wide variety of floral contributions and enhancements supporting the cause.
Browns Bar in the city centre has a colourful array of flowers in large planters, appreciated by the consumer and the community as they indulge on morning cake and coffee.
Other bars and restaurants include Albany social club and Gallery restaurant,
Turmeric Gold, Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre, West Orchards Shopping Centre and the high street along Smithford Way have all stepped in to lend a green fingered hand.
Even the suburbs of Earlsdon and Cheylesmore are getting
involved in the community planting. Many businesses have contributed to their own water feeding systems, conserving water usage and boosting the quality of the floral displays.
Visitors arriving in the city by bus will be welcomed by many flowers in planters outside the entrance of Pool Meadow bus station and also barrier troughs near to the Britannia hotel.
At Coventry Railway Station a strong partnership has been established with Virgin Trains over the past three years. This year there is a drought resistant bed outside the station, four floral beds on the platform, and the greeting ‘Welcome to Coventry’ has been created to sit on the steep bank. To create each letter, flowers are encased in 3D steel frames so that the flowers do not move out of position.
 Over 28 local businesses have also sponsored roundabouts in the city so far this year. Good examples are the Orchard Park roundabout, Central Six shopping centre and outside the B & Q store in Binley Coventry. There is also evidence of commitment to supporting the Bloom campaign on islands present at Extra Care Charitable Trust, University of Warwick Science Park, on Clifford Bridge Road in Coventry, and landscaped islands in Coventry’s Cross Point Business Park and Junction 5 of the ringroad, near Mile Lane and New Union Street.
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 Community involvement is encouraging with residents, the local authority and other partner organisations working together to make the city a colourful and thriving place to live, work and visit. Neighborhood Wardens have a built up a good relationship with local residents and have worked together on many projects.
A pond area in Tanyard Farm had been vandalized by having had polystyrene foam from a building site emptied into it and set on fire. Wardens worked with residents and contacted the Environmental Crime Unit at the Council who used their powers to make the land owner clear the site.
 Whitefriars Housing Group (WHG) have organised an educational competition for schools called "How does your garden grow?" This year WHG invited 12 local schools from Nursery, Reception and Year 1, ages to encourage them to be the citizens of tomorrow by appreciating the environment and getting interested in the garden and all things green. To help get them started each school was given a starter pack consisting of various items including: plants, bulbs, seeds, tools, watering cans, curriculum lined books, a sapling tree and a disposable camera so they could photograph their work. The schools were free to use the contents in isolation, as part of lessons or add them to any existing project.
Children are also encouraged to take part in the annual resident’s garden competition by planting sunflowers and decorating plant pots.
Wardens also worked with Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), the Guinness Trust, a local farmer and 17 youths to clear litter in the Tanyard Farm area. The youths helped fill a skip after clearing the area and learnt a lot about community spirit and being a good neighbour.
 There is also a scheme in progress, People in Action – a day care facility for adults with learning disabilities supporting our maintenance teams by giving ongoing help by weeding, dead-heading and replacing flowers and plants as necessary.
 The medieval garden at Ford’s Hospital Almshouse is being restored by the Trustees of the Charity.
Eventide Homes residents are extremely proud to be associated with the tour, and the events surrounding Coventry in Bloom, and this year have staged an operation which sees them regenerate the area with the support from City Council, CVOne and English Landscapes.
 Through the involvement of design, planting and maintenance around the city, many groups of various age, gender, race and culture have rallied together to support the Coventry in Bloom campaign. Along with the assistance and necessities provided by English Landscapes, Whitefriars, CVOne and the Council, youngsters in particular have been at the forefront of encouraging design.
Activities at Sherbourne Fields School, Templar School, Whoberley School and Barrs Hill School have all culminated their efforts in making a difference to the spaces that they operate within. Sherbourne Fields have been at the spearhead of a complete plot makeover, with animal hutches, floral beds and community building projects such as birdbox design taking up much of their spare time.
 Barrs Hill Specialist Engineering College are celebrating their 100th anniversary, and as part of this monumental centenary, are taking part in a spectacular planting day near Trinity Church in Coventry, to root their spot in history. By joining forces with English Landscapes, the children will be planting various floral blooms by the side of an impressive guild badge designed as part of the Trinity Bed structure. This amazing, eye-catching bed is a result of our roots in history, and supporting the local schools and communities in making a difference to our city.
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 This year the residents in Coventry
have responded in huge numbers to various campaigns and initiatives to improve, develop and sustain their residential front gardens and
balcony areas. By taking part in various activities around Coventry in designing their own garden space, residents are fully dedicated
in joining together as a community to challenge and support one another in their attempts at planting colourful, artistic displays.
 Vicroft Court spent a day planting
up their front gardens, together with CV One, Co-Op and English Landscapes to regenerate the area with successful planting schemes
and maintenance. Hanging baskets have also been supplied for the residents of in Starley Road, with extra planters and hanging baskets
added to support the residents and their love for gardening and community spirit.
 All residents in the city have
been invited to enter a garden competition that has been supported by the Coventry Telegraph. There are prizes for
different categories, with an overall prize selected by the readers. Whitefriars residents, who live in the city’s largest stock of housing sites,
are encouraged to enter their own annual Residents Garden Competition. This has been running for over sixty years and includes
categories for front and back gardens, balconies, communal areas and individual plantings. Awards are also given for novices,
retired people and overall champion.
Residents' groups have also made special efforts in support of the Heart of England in Bloom competition. Styvechale residents held an Open Gardens Day in mid-June where 16 gardens were open to the public and money collected from the sale of tea and cakes was donated to the local hospice.
A resident in Capmartin Road got in touch wanting to support the competition by having made a dull rear entry to a number of properties a more cheerful place by planting and maintaining a rambling rose.
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