Wilmslow businesses are being urged to brighten up their premises in preparation for the town's entry into RHS North West In Bloom competition.
The businesses who took part last year helped Wilmslow win a highly commended silver award and this year organisers Incredible Edible Wilmslow are going for gold.
Businesses are being encouraged to plant their outdoor space with edible herbs, fruit, salad crops or vegetables for everyone to see, smell and taste.
Each business will be responsible for its own premises and Incredible Edible are also suggesting that traders may wish to plant something relevant to their business, such as runner beans for fitness shops, potatoes outside chippies or black eyed beans at opticians.
The team of volunteers have started visiting local businesses to discuss the In Bloom competition and hand out a rough planting guide and application form, which can be found at the bottom of the page on the Incredible Edible website.
Helen Yates, of Incredible Edible, said "The judges come at some point in July, we won't know the exact dates until just beforehand, at which point we will inform all participants and their premises will be added to the judges route.
Prior to this and indeed following the judging date, we will be doing many tours with parties interested in the Incredible Edible movement, so it will be a good way for businesses to profile themselves."
The deadline for businesses to enter is June 1st, to give Incredible Edible enough time to plan the route.
Helen added "Businesses will not be judged individually, so it can be a small gesture to show their participation in the project, we will be judged as a town, against other like sized towns across the North West, such as Knutsford.
"Last year we had 21 business and were awarded a Highly Commended Silver, this year we're hoping for more businesses to have a go and feel we have a good chance of a Silver Guilt or maybe even a Gold as RHS are promoting Edible Britain this year, with Raymond Blanc as the Champion."
If residents would like to get involved and give Incredible Edible a hand, the team are always searching for more volunteers to help out. They meet by Wilmslow Library at 2pm on the first Sunday of each month.
For more information email [email protected].
Photo: Feather & Blacks' Relaxing herb 'bed' from last year.
