NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

Competition categories and nomination form for Reading In Bloom 2026 can be found below.

Residential

Front Garden Under 12ft
Front door to highway must be under 12ft

Front Garden Over 12ft
Front door to highway must be over 12ft

Hanging Baskets, Balconies and Window Boxes
Must be visible from the highway

Container Garden
Must be visible from the highway

Schools

Best Maintained School
Floral displays, tree planting and vegetable plots

Best Eco-Friendly or Forest School
Educating children through supporting wildlife

Community Gardens

Small
Most well maintained and attractive serving the community

Large
Most well maintained and attractive serving the community

Commercial

Most well maintained, attractive, environmental sustainability and visual impact

Allotments

Eco-Friendly
Consideration to environment, sustainability and wildlife

Most Attractive and Well Maintained
Seasonal vegetable and floral

Community Allotment
Bringing community projects together

Pubs AND Restaurants

Most Attractive and Well Maintained Frontage
Visual impact of seasonal well maintained planting, including container, hanging baskets and table displays

Most Attractive and Well Maintained Rear Garden/Terrace
Visual impact of seasonal well maintained planting, including container, hanging baskets and table display

Wellbeing Garden

Wellbeing Garden – Promoting Health and Wellbeing
Corporate, sensory, schools, hospitals, hospices, care homes, community and public gardens

Places of Worship

Most attractive and well maintained based on horticultural quality, environmental sustainability and incorporating community involvement

Entry Criteria

You do not have to have a professionally designed or expensive garden to enter this competition. Judges are interested in the visual impact, floral content/colour, sustainability and variety of seasonal planting. Importance is placed on the maintenance in all of the categories, for example, watering, pruning, de-heading and weeding. A consideration to environment and wildlife, is also looked on favourably by the judging team.

All properties must be within the boundaries of Reading Borough Council. All residential entries must be clearly visible from the highway. All judging is carried out by Reading In Bloom Committee. Competition entries will close at noon on Wednesday 1 July 2026. Judging will take place by mid-July, subject to weather conditions. All shortlisted entries will be notified in September 2026 and invited to the awards ceremony in October.

If you are nominating a third party, please ensure you complete their name, address and email, so we can confirm that they are happy to be included in the judging process.

Allotment is defined as a plot rented from Reading Borough Council or on private or community land run by an individual or group. It need not be visible from the highway, however, access must be provided in order for the judging to take place.