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Suffolk care home residents put their green-fingers to the test when they took part in a flower festival inspired by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and created unique flower displays to ‘wow’ a panel of judges.

The Care UK team at Hartismere Place, in Eye, welcomed residents and care teams from ten Care UK homes across Suffolk to compete in the flower show and be crowned winners of the flower-arranging competition.

Residents and team members from 10 Care UK homes in Suffolk showcased their gardening skills and presented a flower arrangement to enter into awards for six categories, including best home, best theme, and most enthusiastic team.

The flower show participants enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea while the judges Anne Gregory, HR manager at Care UK, Phillip Steyn, regional director at Care UK, and Ian Patterson, from Suffolk County Council, decided on the winning creations.

After much deliberation, prizes were awarded to: Vera Harrison, for Best Resident Entry; Britten Court for Best Resident Group Entry, Best Home Entry, and Best Theme and Presentation; Asterbury Place for Most Enthusiastic, and Glastonbury Court were awarded the People’s Choice Award.

Abhilash Gopi, home manager at Hartismere Place, commented: “The Suffolk Flower Festival was a huge success, and it was a pleasure to welcome the neighbouring care homes to Hartismere Place. The flower arrangements were extremely creative with a great deal of thought going into their creations. The residents gave the Chelsea Flower Show entrants a real run for their money!”

Chloe Swarbrick, home manager at Britten Court in Lowestoft, added: “We have plenty of residents who love gardening here at Britten Court, and we encourage everyone to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. Taking part in flower arranging not only encourages social interaction and creativity, but can also improve wellbeing, and what better way to test out our skills than with a bit of friendly competition. We would like to say a huge thank you to Suffolk County Council for helping us award the prizes to the winning teams.”

Christine Da Silva, home manager at Asterbury Place, added: “An outdoor hobby, such as gardening and growing flowers can improve older people’s wellbeing, and encourages new friendships to blossom. We are incredibly proud of the flower arrangements.”

Sharlene Van Tonder, home manager at Glastonbury Court in Bury St Edmunds, added: “We were thrilled to be awarded the People’s Choice Award. We actively encourage residents at Glastonbury Court to spend time outdoors, whether gardening or picking flowers for indoor arrangements.”