Bloomin Wilmslow prepares to impress judges

North West Britain In Bloom judges will be visiting Wilmslow on Tuesday, 24th July to assess the town's entry into this year competition.

Judge Mel Kirby will be coming for the fourth time this year but his fellow judge, Sarah Hewitt, will be making her first appraisal of our entry.

Guided by Ruth McNulty, Chair of Wilmslow In Bloom, and Helen Yates the tour will start at 9am with a walk across Lindow Common, led by Ranger Paul Hughes, showcasing some of the rare plants in the western mire. From there they will drive to the Temp to meet members of Transition Wilmslow and Rainbows, who have established an orchard and several vegetable beds.

After a brief diversion to admire the bed planted beside Arlington Way by the WI, the party will walk around Chapel Lane where so much progress has been made by members of the local Business Group to cheer the area with flowers and to clear unsightly overgrowth.

They will have a quick look around the gardens at the URC before taking a tea break at the Brewhouse and Kitchen. Refreshed, they will then walk to Bank Square to meet members of the Clean Team and walk along Grove Street where the school planters will be on display outside Barclays Bank.

Afterwards they will walk along Alderley Road to South Drive to see the beds tended by Incredible Edible, then to the area behind the car park, where they are slowly establishing a wildlife area. 1,000 daffodil bulbs were planted this spring and they will be planting bluebells later this year. The minibus, loaned by the High School, will then drive them to the pond at the Leisure Centre from where they will walk to view the improvements at the station.

The last leg of our tour will take them to the Carrs, followed by lunch in the Memorial Gardens where members of Dean Row Rotary will explain their work maintaining the rose beds.

Ruth commented the "The judges are not simply looking for floral displays but are also considering environmental concerns and community involvement. We are fortunate not only to have a rich diversity of habitats and decorative displays to show them but also a substantial number of voluntary groups contributing to the appearance of the town. The Judges are keeping an eye on the progress we have achieved since their last visit and we hope to be able to demonstrate improvements at every stop."

Last year, Wilmslow won eight awards in total from Britain in Bloom. The town entry won another Gold medal together with the 'Pride of East Cheshire' trophy; The Brewhouse and the Clean Team were both given Gold awards and Lindow Common, the Friends of the Carrs, Transition Wilmslow and the Chapel Lane Business Group all achieved 'It's Your Neighbourhood" awards.