Community united in efforts to keep their streets blooming
Residents of Usk have been working together in a bid to win the champions category in the Britain in Bloom competition. Laura Clements explains
IN RURAL villages, urban corners and city centres across the UK, the greenest of fingers have been busy marshalling their troops.
Armed with watering cans, slug pellets, and copious amounts of tea and biscuits, volunteers have been putting the finishing touches to colourful displays of hanging baskets and pristine flower beds.
It can only mean one thing: the judges from Britain in Bloom are in town.
In the Welsh town of Usk , preparations have been even more fraught than usual.
This year, they have been nominated for the “Champion of Champions” category.
It comes after winning the regional Wales in Bloom competition every year since 1982.
After intense judging on Thursday, August 2, the Usk in Bloom committee have downed their trowels and breathed a sigh of relief. They can only wait now until the results are announced in the autumn.
Usk is known as Tref O Flodau in Welsh, or Town of Flowers in English. This may seem odd, as it was in the large village category for the Wales in Bloom competition.
It has also been nominated for the Community in Bloom award at the 2018 World in Bloom competition, in Alberta, Canada.
Whether it be town or village, Usk looks undeniably stunning.
The whole town seems to have got in on the act, and every house appears to be bedecked with hanging baskets and planters, all alive with colour.
But who makes up the green army and why does this town just keep winning?
Simon Eskell, 69, is a retired project manager who last worked on Terminal 5 at Heathrow. As the treasurer for the Usk in Bloom committee, he looks after the money side of things.
This seems fortunate, as he admitted that he “hates flowers”.
“I’m more of a loppers, chainsaw and concrete kind of person,” he said. “And I’m not allowed near flowers without supervision, although I am pretty good at growing acers.”
When he took over as treasurer eight years ago, the finances were not quite such a big job. But now, Mr Eskell reckons he spends around one and a half days every week keeping records up to date.
“Eight years ago, it was just a single A4 notebook. On the left hand page, there was a column for money in, and on the right hand page, there was a column for money out,” he said.
“Now, its more like running a small business account.”
Things have moved on for the Usk in Bloom committee, who work closely with partners including Usk Town Council and Monmouthshire County Council , as well as 13 sponsors.
To make up for long months of street closure because of repairs to the gasworks under the road, Monmouthshire County Council gave the team a £3,000 grant.
“This enabled us to offer a big discount on our hanging basket service this year and virtually the whole of Bridge Street have a floral display which the judges said surpassed anything they had seen before in Usk in terms of numbers and quality,” the committee chairman said.
Their registered charity, Friends of Usk in Bloom, is also a valuable source of income which also benefits from the government Gift Aid scheme.
“We are very reliant on volunteers doing the work. You can have lots of volunteers but if you don’t have the money, there ain’t much you can do,” said Mr Eskell.
For Tony Kear, this was his seventh year as chairman, having taken on the role in 2011. The former town mayor said: “I always liked Usk in Bloom for what it did for the town when I was mayor.
“In 2011, some key players moved away, and the committee was lacking money and volunteers, so I thought I would step in.
“The rest, as they say, is history,” he added.
He heads up a team of 20 on the committee, which is tasked with coordinating efforts, fundraising, and ensuring everyone knows what they are doing.
Mr Kear admitted it had been especially tough getting the town ready for the judges this year, due to the summer heatwave.
“Luckily, the Willows Garden Centre has been great, helping us out with watering all the plants,” he said.
He puts the town’s success down to the way residents and businesses in the town have got behind the annual horticultural challenge.
From the local school, to the brownies and cubs in Usk, Usk in Bloom has reached into every part of the community.
With a population of just under 2,000 and 66 clubs, societies and associations in the town, 29 are connected to Usk in Bloom in some way.
At the beginning of every season, the Usk in Bloom team lug out heavy planters, which then have to be bought back in for the winter. For help, they call in the lads from the rugby team.
“For them, it’s a gym session, but the lads are brilliant and save us so much time and effort,” said Mr Eskell.
Local builder’s merchant, A Jones and Son, lend the team a truck through the year for getting containers out across the town and making bulk deliveries of compost to where it is needed.
One farmer even donated a couple of antique ploughs for display, which were brought back to their former glory by a local tradesperson. These can now be seen welcoming visitors at the entrance to Usk.
Britain in Bloom, started by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1963, is the UK’s longest running gardening competition.
There are only four other Welsh entrants in the national final: Colwyn Bay, Fishguard and Goodwick, Rhuddlan, and Wolfescastle.
The annual competition has evolved over time.
“Originally, it was just about looking nice,” said Mr Kear.
“Obviously that is still very important but now it’s also about sustainability, environment, education and community - things like pollination and outdoor classrooms where kids grow vegetables.”
The judges award points based on a strict criteria, which is weighted between floral display (50%), community (25%) and environment (25%).
The competition results will be announced later in the year: Wales in Bloom, September 14, in Colwyn Bay, North Wales Communities (World) in Bloom, September 29, Alberta, Canada, Britain in Bloom, October 19, in Belfast.