Fifth for Flourishing Forth

And Lanark received a Bronze.

Flourishing Forth members were delighted with the award especially as, following the retiral of one of the former organisers, Rena Whyte, many of the group’s ground-force were new.

“I think our eco site, with our polytunnels, boosts our chances quite a bit, because the judges are usually looking for things like that,” said Ann Anderson, secretary of Forth and District Initiative Group.

“There is also the fact that we are working with South Lanarkshire to develop a wild flower meadow in Forth as well – these things influence your marks.

“We also have here a strong community who help with all the various planting and looking after the hanging baskets, and we have a lot of volunteers who look after flower beds in their areas.

“We are quite a strong community. We are delighted with the silver.”

For Lanark in Bloom, Ernie Romer told the Gazette on Monday that he was “very disappointed” at the bronze award as the Royal Burgh had won silver previously.

However, he said that efforts to beautify the town would continue with, hopefully, a better result in the future.

The awards were made by the charity Keep Scotland Beautiful at a ceremony in Motherwell last Tuesday.

The prestigious Beautiful Scotland award ceremony is the climax of a year of continuous work by local people throughout Scotland who have worked hard to successfully transform their local environments.

Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Beautiful Scotland, a campaign run by Keep Scotland Beautiful, celebrates the work of communities, from whole cities to villages, who pull together to improve and enhance their local areas.

“Through floral enhancement, community participation, and taking responsibility for tackling the criminal activity of littering and dog fouling, these Beautiful Scotland groups make a massive difference to South Lanarkshire, and our country.

“The awards presented at this ceremony go some way to recognising all the endless hours which volunteers and local authorities put in throughout the year to ensure that visitors and local community members are able to enjoy clean, green and sustainable surroundings.”

HELEN McCALL