Blooming marvellous - Tower Hamlets scoops silver gilt in London in Bloom contest

PARKS and gardens in East London are blooming marvellous. That s the verdict of London in Bloom judges who praised the green-fingered gardeners helped Tower Hamlets retain its silver gilt trophy in the annual contest which encourages people to brighten u

PARKS and gardens in East London are blooming marvellous.

That's the verdict of London in Bloom judges who praised the green-fingered gardeners helped Tower Hamlets retain its silver gilt trophy in the annual contest which encourages people to brighten up the area where they live.

Islington won this year's top prize.

Tower Hamlets took third place in the floral display category and homeless charity Crisis won a merit for its Skylight garden.

The judges were taken on a whistle stop tour of Tower Hamlets in July and visited the sunken gardens in Victoria Park - reminiscent of the floral displays from the 1840s when the park first opened.

They also took in floral displays in Museum Gardens and Trinity Square Gardens, and checked out gardens designed to encourage biodiversity in Weavers Fields, Bethnal Green and Mile End Park Ecology Park.