TWO judges from Beautiful Scotland were welcomed to Inverurie by Inverurie Environmental Improvement Group (IEI) on Wednesday, August 7, to view the floral displays throughout Inverurie in the Medium Towns category, of the Scotland-wide contest.
Inverurie was placed in the Medium Towns category by virtue of its electoral roll rather than geographical spread and according to the judges, 'Medium Towns' is one of the most competitive categories.
After an inspiring presentation given by Rana
ld Allan, Chairman of IEI, and despite the rainy weather, the judges, Ben Lyte from Haddington and Alistair Barnard from Grange of Lindores, enjoyed their tour of the town and were suitably impressed by what Inverurie had to offer, not only in terms of the 3,700 blooms - including 170 baskets - planted out this year, but also the gardens in various housing schemes and the sculptures found in unusual places around the town.
During their tour, the judges observed that there was very little litter to be found around the streets, and they loved the fact that, rather than using tap water to nourish the blooms, the water is obtained from the Polinar Dam, that used to serve the Loco Works, the railway station in the days of steam, and the cement works to this day.
Having commented that this water is full of nutrients for the plants, the judges said they wished more people would use a natural source of water rather than water from the tap.
Speaking about the tour, judge Alistair Barnard, Chairman of the judges in Scotland said: "The weather was unfortunate. I know what the place looks like in a good spell. When you come to a place like this and everything is explained to you, I'm impressed by the way the business community gets involved and the shopkeepers help to make the place look beautiful.
"The appearance of the town is very good. There is a lot of nice planting. Up by Andersons the gardens in the new housing schemes are very well kept. There aren't so many bedding plants, but there is a lot of sustainable planting."
Ben Lyte, National Trust for Scotland Garden Advisor added: "The art around the town is very good and not at all where you would expect to see it."
Having impressed the judges last week, Inverurie awaits the results, which will be announced at a ceremony in Brunton Hall, Musselburgh, on Wednesday, September 17.
With almost immediate effect, the ball starts rolling again, as the IEI committee convene to make plans for 2009.
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