‘Fifty years of flowers’ were celebrated at Dartmouth’s community greenhouse – with lots of cream teas, cakes and drinks.

The event marked the half-a-century milestone since Dartmouth Green Partnerships, formerly Dartmouth in Bloom, started decorating the town.

Stevie Rogers, Dartmouth Green Partnerships Chairman, said: ‘The celebration was planned to coincide with Cream Tea Day, and we were grateful for the cream and jam supplied by the Cream Tea Society and the scones and cakes baked by our volunteers. It worked well as our planting scheme this year was ‘cream teas’ with jammy reds and pinks and cream and white flowers.’

“Despite the drizzle - the first for a long time - everyone enjoyed themselves, looking at the greenhouse, and the plants in the community garden.”

Stevie said Dartmouth Green Partnerships was originally set up by a group of volunteers as Dartmouth in Bloom in the 1970s, which is when the first entries were made to South West in Bloom’s competition. This continued through the 1980s and 1990s.

She added: “By the 2000s the Royal Horticultural Society had taken over Britain in Bloom and gradually made changes which emphasised community involvement and environmental awareness as well as horticulture. This remains the basis of the judging of entries for the awards.”

In 2013 the leadership of Dartmouth in Bloom changed, and the name also changed to Dartmouth Green Partnerships, which became a charity. The old greenhouse was demolished in 2015 which saw the start of fundraising for the new greenhouse which was erected in August 2022.

Dartmouth Green Partnerships have regularly entered the South West in Bloom awards and won gold. They’ve extended the planting by volunteers, creating a floral walk along the riverfront, the potager and new beds at the community garden.