A call has been made to Shepton Mallet residents to help blanket the town white with snowdrops.

The cataclysmic Storm Dennis didn't stop the Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival earlier this year and nor will coronavirus stop the 2021 festival, say the organisers.

The 2021 Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival will go ahead. Its shape and format may be different but the festival team are determined to see it happen, with whatever steps are needed to make sure it's safe.

The theme for 2021, Hope in Nature, is a response to these extraordinary times. The healing power of gardens, whatever shape or size, is widely recognised - they make us feel better.

In recent months plants and gardening have brought communities together and come to the rescue of people confronted with lockdown, loneliness and loss.

For many people, the emergence of the first snowdrop shoots heralds the start of a fresh year.

In the past five years, volunteers have planted hundreds of thousands of snowdrop bulbs in Shepton Mallet and the festival team will be organising more planting this autumn.

For 2021, they want to support and encourage the wider community of Shepton to help blanket the town white with snowdrops as a sign of hope and recovery and the promise of spring.

This invitation goes out to all of Shepton Mallet's communities, neighbourhoods, streets, roads, estates, gardening and any other groups.

If you would you like to buy some bulbs to plant on your patch, the Snowdrop Festival Team will be placing their bulk order for snowdrop bulbs at the end of August.

If you have a site that can be planted then you can add your order to their order to secure bulbs at discount prices of 100 snowdrop bulbs for £10, 500 snowdrop bulbs for £40 or 1,000 snowdrop bulbs for £75.

If you would like to place an order for bulbs (payment up front will be needed) you can order directly on the website here, or call 07710 252155 for more details.

If you help with bulk planting to blanket the town white with snowdrops, you can become a Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival Volunteer.

If you would like to volunteer for autumn bulb planting, or to be a part of the wider Festival Team, they would love to hear from you. Contact them on [email protected].