Flowers team helping Shrewsbury to bloom for contest
[gallery] Shropshire's "town of flowers" has been transformed into a riot of colour with staff working around the clock to complete its traditional summer planting scheme.
And while it is the thousands of colourful blooms planted around Shrewsbury which naturally get the credit, it is the small team at Shrewsbury Town Council, working through the year with military-like precision, that makes the floral scene a reality.
Dozens of greenhouses at the council's Weeping Cross Depot produce more than 300,000 plants which are then tended to by the grounds maintenance team. The team takes on extra staff as the summer months approach to finish the complex operation.
The plants and flowers, in hanging baskets, tubs and floral beds, are unmistakeable with more than 20,000 plants alone apportioned for the 365-days-a-year show garden in the Dingle.
Famous as the Town of Flowers, Shrewsbury has a reputation to uphold especially after a gold and category winner titles in the Heart of England in Bloom Awards last year.
The non-profit organisation Shrewsbury in Bloom, the driving force behind the town's annual entry into the competition, will attempt to retain the regional title in 2013. The town has also been nominated to represent the West Midlands in the national Britain in Bloom finals and bosses say if they triumph in that the next step would be "European domination" in the floral stakes.
Council clerk Helen Ball said: "Our lads love what they do and it shows in the beautiful displays they create around town.
"Carrying out the spring and summer planting schemes is a mammoth task that requires a dedicated and passionate workforce. We grow more than 300,000 plants at our Weeping Cross Depot, which are then distributed throughout the town in dozens of locations."
Judges for the Britain in Bloom contest are due to visit the town on August 5 when the many floral arrangements, and Incredible Edible displays, will be adjudicated against rigorous criteria.
Mrs Ball added: "Our staff take pride in upholding Shrewsbury's reputation as a town of flowers and it's a pride we hope extends to all of our residents, shops and businesses."
Councillor Jackie Brennand, chair of the Shrewsbury in Bloom committee, said 268 hanging baskets were being hung outside businesses this year which was the biggest total to date.
She added: "There are an enormous number of plants produced in the greenhouses all year round by a very small team of staff. They take on extra people in the summer for all the watering and it's an essential part of life in Shrewsbury because it brings in so many people to the town.
"The Dingle is nationally known because of its wonderful displays and people from all over the country come to see them which mean they are also spending money in the town. Some people perhaps don't appreciate the real benefit it brings our economy."
She added: "We have more hanging baskets than ever this year and it's the small independents – the people who are struggling the most – who are putting their hands in their pockets to sponsor us. Hopefully we will do pretty well this year."
A Twitter page has been launched by the Bloom committee featuring live feeds, hints and tips for green-fingered residents as the hunt for national glory intensifies.
