Young Designers Are Invited To Create A Flag For Our Historic Horticultural Society And Gardens To Help Us Celebrate 60 Years Of Community Engagement.
Spalding – Local students are challenged to let their creativity bloom this Christmas for Springfields Horticultural Society, which owns, manages and maintains the fabulous Springfields Festival Gardens, by taking part in our exciting flag design competition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our charity.
The free-to-enter competition invites primary and secondary school students to design a flag that represents our beloved charity gardens – and the winning design will come to life in spectacular fashion, planted as a living flower display AND manufactured as an official flag to fly proudly at the gardens throughout 2026.
"We want young people to be at the heart of our 60th anniversary celebrations," says Becky Kirtland, Education and Outreach Co-ordinator for Springfields Horticultural Society and the Festival Gardens. "This competition is a wonderful opportunity for students to express their creativity, connect with nature and their local heritage, and see their artwork transformed into something special. Imagine designing something that thousands of people will see and enjoy – that's an incredible experience for any young artist!"
A Creative Challenge with Colourful Constraints
The competition has an exciting twist: designers must use a maximum of four colours, and one of them must be green. This creative constraint ensures the winning design will have maximum visual impact when planted with bedding flowers and will be practically achievable by the gardens' expert horticultural team.
Perfect Timing for Being Creative
With entries closing on Friday, February 13, 2026, the competition timeline is perfect for families of younger entrants to work on designs together over the Christmas holidays, with plenty of time to refine ideas during January and early February.
Open to All Local Students
The competition is open to all students aged 4-18 attending primary or secondary schools within Spalding, as well as homeschooled students in the area. Entries will be judged within age categories (Primary, Junior Secondary, Senior Secondary) but one overall winner will be selected from all age groups.
An Unforgettable Prize
The winning design will:
- Be planted as a large-scale bedding plant display in the charity gardens in late Spring
- Be manufactured as an official flag to fly at the gardens
- Be unveiled at special celebration events in April and May 2026
Two runners-up will also be recognized with certificates, and the chance to attend the celebration events.
What Makes a Winning Flag Design?
Judges will be looking for designs that are:
- Bold and eye-catching – something that makes people stop and look
- Meaningful – representing the gardens, nature, community, or heritage
- Creative – showing original thinking within the four-colour rule
- Practical – simple enough to be planted in flowers and seen from a distance
We're looking for a design that really captures what our gardens mean to the community.
How to Enter
Students simply need to:
- Create their design on the A4 paper entry form in landscape format, using a maximum of four colours (one must be green)
- Complete the entry form (available from schools or online at springfieldsfestivalgardens.org.uk)
- Submit by post or online
- by 5pm on Friday, February 13, 2026
Please click on the links provided for all the information you need in regard the competition.