Bloom judges see Strath at its best
Assessors have been out and about in Strathearn’s towns and villages this month as judging got underway for the annual horticultural competitions.
Crieff is entered into the Take a Pride in Perthshire competition and Comrie is hoping for success in the Beautiful Scotland contest.
Meanwhile, volunteers from the village of Muthill are going for the double after entering both contests.
Judges visited Crieff last week and were shown round by members of Crieff in Leaf, who’ve been busy maintaining beds and planters throughout the town and painting railings over the past few months.
Group chair Keith Stewart said: “The town was looking great so we’re pleased with how everything went and now we just have to wait until the winners are announced next month.”
Volunteers from Comrie in Colour had their work cut out after flower planters were vandalised just days before the judges arrived.
Two young people ripped out plants from the containers at Dalginross and threw them at each other leaving a mess for residents to fix.
However, all ended well as volunteers managed to find some replacement flowers and ensured the village was looking beautiful in time for their assessment in the Large Village category.
Comrie in Colour chairperson Muriel Gregory said: “We were very lucky with the weather on the day the judges came as it stopped raining just in time for us showing them around.
“Everything went smoothly but they are very non-committal so you never know how you’ve done until the day of the awards ceremony.
“We’ll be going along and it will be great if we do get something on the night.”
This is the 25th year Comrie in Colour has entered the competition and last year they won a Gold medal in the Large Village category.
Meanwhile, Muthill in Bloom has been involved in the Beautiful Scotland competition for more than 20 years and has this year entered the Small Village category.
Last year, the village represented Scotland in the UK RHS Britain in Bloom finals and was presented with a Silver Gilt medal.
Susan Crawford, from Muthill in Bloom, said: “The village was looking lovely when the judges arrived for the two assessments, which was great as we had a fair bit of work to do after the bad weather just beforehand.
“Everything went well so we’re very happy and we’ll find out if we’ve won anything in either of the competitions next month.”
The Take a Pride in Perthshire awards are presented at a ceremony in Perth on September 8.
And the awards ceremony for the Beautiful Scotland competition, run by Keep Scotland Beautiful in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society, takes place on September 14 in Aberdeen.