RHS London in Bloom Awards
September 2026
What a wonderful day Friday turned out to be for the Friends of Oxleas Woodlands!
While our Woodland Conservation Volunteers were beavering away in Oxleas Wood, five of our session leaders excused themselves from the hard graft and slipped off to the RHS London in Bloom Awards Ceremony at Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall.
🏆 Our results
Community Award
🥇 Gold – Community Garden - Jackwood Wildlife Garden
It’s Our Neighbourhood Awards
🏆 Level 5 – Outstanding - Castle Wood Rose Garden
🏆 Level 5 – Outstanding - Jackwood Wildlife Garden
Category 3 – Parks Over 10 Acres
🥈 Silver Gilt - Oxleas Woodlands
Desktop Categories
🥇 Gold – Environmental Challenge - Oxleas Woodlands
🥈 Silver Gilt – Biodiversity - Jackwood Wildlife Garden
Last year was a first for us when we entered our newest project, Jackwood Wildlife Garden, into two categories. Our success, together with learning more about the awards and what the judges were looking for, gave us the confidence to take the plunge again this year. This time, we not only entered Jackwood Wildlife Garden again, but also added Castle Wood Rose Garden, our very first FOW project following our foundation in 2018.
And, for the first time, we entered Oxleas Woodlands itself. We wanted to see whether the hard work our volunteers put into conserving and improving this precious ancient woodland, its meadows, gardens, formal areas, pathways and signage, would receive some recognition – and, just as importantly, to get valuable feedback from the judges.
Well, the word ‘delight’ really doesn’t begin to describe how we felt when the results were announced. We are absolutely over the moon!
These awards are a wonderful recognition of the time, enthusiasm and hard work put in by our volunteers throughout the year. From tending our gardens and creating wildlife-friendly spaces to conserving our ancient woodland, every volunteer contribution helps to make Oxleas Woodlands the special place it is.
We couldn’t be prouder – and we certainly couldn’t have done it without our volunteers!
A huge thank you to everyone who gives their time, energy and enthusiasm to Friends of Oxleas Woodlands.
These awards belong to you too.
