Residents in Plains are busy sprucing up their village ahead of this year’s visit from Beautiful Scotland judges.
They are further developing the popular community garden on Main Street, and are adding splashes of summer colour through its regular bonnie barrels competition.
Leading the efforts are volunteers from Plains Community Futures (PCF), who earned a silver gilt certificate in the large village category at the last nationwide awards in 2019 for their work in making the village “a more pleasant place to live and visit”.
They have filled the community garden and its poly tunnel with plants donated by Craigmarloch Nurseries, Pentland garden centre and Morrisons in Airdrie; while local quarry firm Tarmac supplied ground material for a new path and boulders to form a new rockery.
Haulage firm McCracken Transport delivered the bulky quarry materials free of charge, and staff from Advanced Construction lent their support by providing both the tarmacadam and labour to finish the pathway.
PCF chair George McCutcheon said: “As well as looking great, the path provides easy access for wheelchair users; and we’ve also installed a new display bed for flowers and two raised beds to grow herbs, fruit and veg.”
The group has also been supported by Muirhall Energy and through funding from the National Lottery, North Lanarkshire Council, Arnold Clark community fund and Action Earth – as well as regular donations from local residents to keep the projects running.
Founded four years ago, PCF members are now hoping to strike gold when the Beautiful Scotland judges visit on August 27 – and first will have their area’s annual bonnie barrels contest, which sees neighbours individually adopt one of the village’s distinctive planters and create their own individual displays.
Airdrie distillery Inver House donates the barrels and is again sponsoring this year’s competition, which includes both Plains and neighbouring Caldercruix.
George said: “This helps get residents involved and creates a bit of interest around gardening, and some of the barrel planters look fab already.
“It also creates friendly rivalry between the two villages – Caldercruix won last year so maybe Plains will win the trophy back this time!
“We’d encourage residents to get involved, and would be glad to hear from anyone interested in helping with weeding, planting or painting barrels.”
He added of next month’s Beautiful Scotland visit: “We’re working with the council’s land services, Plains allotments, Beverley Park residents’ group and many more local organisations including the primary schools, and hopefully together we can achieve a gold medal for Plains.”
