Market Harborough scored 94 of 100 and Lubenham 91 in East Midlands in Bloom 2026, both Gold and both top of their categories. What the judges' reports say.
Market Harborough has won Gold in East Midlands in Bloom again, and the judges’ marks show how far ahead it was.
The town scored 94 out of 100 in the Large Town category. The only other large town in the competition, Newark, scored 79 for Silver Gilt. Lubenham, two miles west, won Gold in the Village category with 91, four marks clear of the next village.
The organisers have now published the full results and every judge’s report. They put Market Harborough joint second of all 26 community entries across the region, level with Market Bosworth. Only Loughborough, in the small city category, scored higher, with 96.
How Market Harborough scored
The judges, Liz Alun-Jones and Caroline Lomas, toured the town on 2 July. Their marks were:
- Horticulture: 39
- Environment: 25
- Community: 30
That horticulture mark of 39 is the highest any of the 26 entries received this year. The community mark of 30 is also the highest in the competition. Environment was the weakest section, and the report says why (more on that below).
The report credits 35 regular volunteers, who put in about 5,000 volunteer hours last year. They meet every Monday and Wednesday at their base in Welland Park, where seeds are propagated and bulbs are kept over winter. The group is marking 30 years of Market Harborough in Bloom this year.
The judges called the planting in the 134 planters the group looks after “exemplary”. They wrote: “Everything the judges saw was healthy, vibrant, well-tended and grown to peak perfection.” They singled out the High Street planters as “exceptional”.
The judges’ award went to Peter Eddie, for what the report calls his “huge contribution” to the group’s success. His roles include organising the team, making the planters at the station and producing the entry portfolio.
Where the judges went
The tour covered much of the town. The report praises:
- Union Wharf, where the planters sit around a lock gate sundial
- the railway station, where the judges called the renovation and planting “excellent”
- Ridgeway Primary Academy, which the judges called “a delight”
- Little Bowden Bowling Club, for its green and borders
- the Three Swans on the High Street, for its pink and white petunias
- Welland Park, including the arboretum, the rose garden and the borders by the refurbished tennis courts
- Friendship Park, where fruit trees are establishing and a stumpery is being developed
At Peter Callis Way the judges were shown the new estate of over 1,100 homes on the former airfield. The report says it was “pleasing to see” that play parks and canalside walks had been included.
The bird boxes in Welland Park had a 58% occupancy rate last winter, the report notes. The judges also saw almost no litter.
What the judges want next year
The report is not all praise. The judges said:
- the Millennium Walk along the River Welland was “variable in appeal and quality”
- some wildflower areas by the river were “a mass of nettle, dock and creeping thistle”
- the mix of wild and formal planting in the Memorial Garden could be more cohesive
- the signage on the bus shelter in The Square is out of date
They suggested surveying the wildflower areas to see how much wildlife they support. They also suggested entering the RHS station award next year.
Lubenham: Gold, and top village
Lubenham in Bloom scored 91, with 36 for horticulture, 27 for environment and 28 for community. Milford and Makeney, in Derbyshire, also won Gold in the Village category, with 87.
The judges, Mary Bagley and Judith Warner, visited on 9 July. Their award went to Margaret Richards “for her outstanding leadership of Lubenham in Bloom”.
The report picks out:
- the churchyard at All Saints’, which won a Green Flag Community Award this year, the first time it was entered
- a rewilding project in the churchyard with three mowing regimes; the judges counted 15 butterflies on the least-cut area
- a new community garden of vegetables, herbs and flowers
- the War Memorial Garden, with a new climbing rose planted in memory of a volunteer
- a tool and bicycle repair project that has raised over £22,000 for the Village Charities
Not one piece of litter or dog mess was seen on the tour, the judges wrote. “Fabulous!”
Their suggestions for next year were more drought-tolerant planting in the geranium beds, regular wildlife recording, and recruiting younger volunteers.
A front garden with full marks
One more Market Harborough result stands out. A front garden on Rutland Walk won the Frank Constable MBE Award for Best Front Garden, the competition’s single front garden prize. It scored 100 out of 100. The judges called it “unique and highly original” and wrote that there was “not a bare space” in the 30ft by 15ft garden.
Ridgeway Primary Academy also won Silver in the Best School Garden awards, with 68 marks. The school judge gave it a discretionary award for a growing area “run on a shoestring”.
A long run
This is not a one-off. East Midlands in Bloom’s own reports list Market Harborough and Lubenham as Gold in every year from 2022 to 2026. The 2023 report also named Market Harborough the Large Town category winner.
What it means for you
The planters, the station beds and Welland Park are kept up by volunteers, and both groups are asking for more. Market Harborough in Bloom’s judges noted that notices inviting new volunteers are displayed around the town. Lubenham’s report says the village would like more younger people to join.
If you want to see what the judges saw, the Welland Park rose garden and borders and the station planting are all free to visit. Our things to do page has more on Welland Park.
Sources
- East Midlands in Bloom, Results 2026, for every category result and the floral and school awards.
- East Midlands in Bloom, Reports 2026, for the judges’ reports, marks, judges’ awards and the Rutland Walk and Ridgeway Primary Academy score sheets.
- East Midlands in Bloom reports for 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022, for the earlier Gold awards.
- East Midlands in Bloom results page.
The ranking across all 26 entries is our own, from the total marks printed in each judge’s report.
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