Gesture behind flower donations is revealed

T H E my ste r y b e h i n d the bouquets of flowers appearing on doorsteps across Angus towns has finally been solved.

Residents across the area have been baffled by the sudden appearance of the floral displays which began at the start of the month. It has now been revealed that an Angus playgroup is behind the kind gesture – and it’s all thanks to an initiative to teach the youngsters about reducing waste.

Paula McGregor, who is the Early Years manager at the Ladybird playgroup in Arbroath, explained: “The playgroup is a registered charity that works with local stores such as Lidl and Asda to combat food waste.

“We receive donations from the store of products that they are unable to sell, such as damaged boxes of cereal, broken biscuit packs, and teach the kids that these things are OK to use.”

It was through the reduce waste scheme that the flowers came to arrive at the Ladybird Playgroup.

Paula said: “We recently got a large donation of flowers that we had no idea what to do with.

“It would seem that at this time of year, people are not buying that many flowers.

“The children visit the residents at the Seaton Grove Care Home each week and the kids asked if we could donate the flowers. But even after we took them over there we still had too many left.”

It was then that Paula had the idea of using the surplus of flowers to brighten up local areas.

Her son decided he would drop them off at doorsteps and other care homes around the towns as the family, from Carnoustie, were out completing errands.

They went to houses of people they knew as well as those who had volunteered in the community. The kind gesture has generally been well received by the residents of Carnoustie and Arbroath, but Paula admits there has been some scepticism as to why the flowers have appeared.

She said: “We got lots of lovely responses on Facebook and community groups.

“But there were some people who said they were a bit scared and there was talk that is was a ploy to see if people were on holiday or at home to steal their dogs.

“It is a shame that people would see a nice gesture as something sinister but most people found it a welcome surprise.

“It brightens up the dark nights.”

Three of the children at Ladybird Playgroup with some of the bouquets that they have been leaving anonymously on doorsteps.