The provost of Perth and Kinross is convinced Beautiful Perth will be successful at the Britain in Bloom competition, where the floral community group is in the running to be crowned ‘champion of champions’.
Beautiful Perth will find out tonight (Friday, October 25) whether it has been successful in its bid to take the top award at a ceremony in London.
And the provost, who is heading to London for the prize-giving, is sure the city will scoop the accolade in what is Beautiful Perth’s 30th anniversary year.
He said: “I have a strong feeling that Beautiful Perth will be successful, it has really excelled this year.
“I know that it’s very much a community effort and everyone pulls out all the stops working together to do their best to keep our city looking spectacular.
“Every year our ‘in bloom’ groups come up trumps and it is all down to planning, sheer hard work and a pride in our communities.
“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has played a part in keeping Perth ‘a better place to live, work and visit’.”
Meanwhile, Bridge of Earn has a tremendous opportunity at the same competition, where it the only Scottish representative for the category of large village.
There is one finalist village from Wales, one from Northern Ireland and three from England.
Judging happened on August 8 when Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) judges were whisked around on a two hour tour by community members.
They heard from local school children about growing food organically for the community, from a beekeeper and from the eco-church.
Kathleen Baird, a local councillor and Brig in Bloom chair, said: “We are really proud of our wonderful achievements over the last year, and being a first-time finalist is a great tribute to the hard work of our dedicated team of volunteers.”
Vice-chair of the Brig in Bloom committee Avril Fulton told the PA yesterday: “We are hoping, really hoping, we will get a gold award at the finals of Britain in Bloom.
“That is a big ask we know, because it would be unusual for a village to get a gold award for its first time at the finals. We are up against the best of the best.
“If not gold, we will be coming hope with either a bronze, silver or silver gilt.
“It’s very exciting, we will not know how we’ve done until your paper is out and on the shelves.”
Provost Dennis Melloy promised he would be cheering for the Bridge of Earn planters and pruners: “I am really delighted for Brig in Bloom, they deserve their place in the final.
“As provost I am very proud of them all and looking forward to cheering them on no matter the result.”
