GREEN-fingered residents across Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire are celebrating after winning prizes as part of Wales in Bloom.

Denbigh, Holywell and Holt in Wrexham all entered the prestigious awards, run by the Royal Horticultural Society, with judges visiting these areas over the summer.

Now the anxious wait is over, with the results announced and the hard work of those involved having paid off, with all three entries proving successful.

Denbigh won gold in the town category, while Holywell won silver gilt in the same category and Holt won a silver gilt in the large village category.

Bob Campbell from Holt Community Gardeners, organiser of Holt's entry, shared the news in a post on the Holt Village Facebook page.

He said: "We are delighted to report that Holt Community Gardeners have won silver gilt in the large village category for 2021. It was described as a "high" silver gilt and was just one point short of a gold. An amazing achievement.

"These awards recognise the effort that we, as a community, have all put in to making our village a place to be proud of and a great place to live. Many thanks to the people, all of the organisations and businesses who have made this possible. We will have more information to share next week."

Mr Campbell added that Holt had also won an It's Your Neighbourhood award, reaching level five, which is outstanding, as well as being given the top award of the national certificate of distinction, which was the only one for the whole of Wales.

The results for Denbigh were shared on the Denbigh in Bloom Facebook page, with many comments celebrating the news and thanking the hard-working volunteers for making this happen.

One post said: "It was never in doubt that you would get gold. You’ve all worked so hard for so long. Thank you from those of us who were unable to volunteer, you have made our town zing and our hearts burst with pride."

The vice chair of Denbigh in Bloom, Helena Cawthray said: "All the volunteers are truly shocked to have won best town in Wales again, after we scooped the award in 2019. After all the competitions were cancelled in 2020, due to COVID-19, we weren’t really expecting to get the same result again. Everyone has been so complimentary about the displays this year and so to come away with a gold and best town is just the best feeling and reward for all that hard work!

Meanwhile, in Holywell, the organisers of their entry for Wales in Bloom posted on the town council's Facebook page.

A spokesperson said: "Great news! Silver Gilt award again for our Wales in Bloom entry!"

Peter Barton-Price, chairman of Wales in Bloom, congratulated the winners at an event held in Beaumaris.

He said: “Thank you to everyone for attending today, a day of celebration and award giving for 2021.  It wouldn’t be right to start our ceremony today without acknowledging the harrowing year that 2020 was. 

"With very little warning, we were all faced with difficult and different times where `normality’ no longer featured, the pandemic taking from us loved ones, family, relatives and dear friends. 

"But it was also a year where communities came together to help and support each other through such times.  Making connections and building resilience – and it is this resilience that brings us all here today.  We were so pleased to be able to run the 2021 campaign and visit Bloom groups in person.”