Green fingered winners of 2024 Aquavista in Bloom announced

Sep 2024, by Kirstie Swingler

Aquavista has announced Cropredy Waterside & Marina as its winner of the ‘Outstanding Overall Site’ of its Aquavista in Bloom 2024 awards, sponsored by Towergate Insurance.

The moorers at Cropredy came up with a creative idea for an outdoor living room adorned with an array of plants and flowers and a working lock, aptly named Lock Keepers Cottage, home to Locky the scarecrow. The display which uses upcycled furnishings has also been put forward as the marina’s entry into the Cropredy Scarecrow Trail competition. A bingo afternoon and quiz helped raise money towards the living room which is now a great community space for the crew and moorers alike to spend time and relax.

The competition, now in its second year was launched in April with Aquavista inviting their 29 marinas to accept the challenge of creating some stunning floral displays around their marina to provide lovely spaces for their customers, visitors and crew to spend time in this summer.

This year, the number of categories doubled, opening up even more opportunities for marinas to take part and highlight their unique initiatives. New categories for upcycling and creative displays have been added to inspire the use of recycled materials and to encourage fresh, bold ideas that reflect the vibrant spirit of our community.

Towergate Insurance supplied branded watering cans and packets of sunflower seeds, with the challenge to see who could grow the tallest sunflower.

The winners, announced at Aquavista’s National Managers meeting were awarded their prizes, trophies and certificates by Elisa Hadland, Head of Partnerships at Towergate Insurance. As the overall winner, Cropredy Waterside & Marina also won £250 towards a party for their crew and customers to celebrate their win. A special extra prize was also awarded to a moorer from each region to recognise their outstanding contribution to the competition.

Operations Director at Aquavista, Mark Wanless said “Once again we have experienced overwhelming interest and support towards the annual Aquavista in Boom campaign. I am personally filled with immense joy and pride when our crew teams and customers come together to bring our marinas to life through environmental initiatives, turning our spaces into a wonder of vibrant colours. We have seen further ingenious upcycling ideas and themed planters, from Olympic rings to an automated flower band, the whole campaign has once again showcased what makes our marinas special places to be.”

Elisa from Towergate Insurance added “Towergate are really proud to continue the sponsorship of Aquavista in bloom 2024. It’s amazing to see how the marinas are continuing to develop their gardens with various themes and unique ideas. The engagement with the berth holder community is so great to see”.

Winners in all categories are:

Outstanding Overall Site: Cropredy Waterside & Marina

Tallest sunflower: Trinity Waterside & Marina [5ft 8in]

North region:

Outstanding Tubs & Hanging Baskets: Nottingham Castle Waterside & Marina
Outstanding Upcycle Project: Sawley Waterside & Marina
Outstanding Creative Display: Kings Waterside & Marina
Special recognition customer award: Rob at Kings Waterside & Marina

South region:

Outstanding Tubs & Hanging Baskets: Packetboat Waterside & Marina
Outstanding Upcycle Project: Priory Waterside & Marina
Outstanding Creative Display: Portavon Waterside & Marina
Special recognition customer award: Caroline at Royal Clarence Waterside & Marina

Midlands region:

Outstanding Tubs & Hanging Baskets: Trinity Waterside & Marina
Outstanding Upcycle Project: Kings Bromley Waterside & Marina
Outstanding Creative Display: Brinklow Waterside & Marina
Special recognition customer award: Ange at Wigrams Turn Waterside & Marina