Town says it with flowers

Blooming bollards have brought a sea of colour to Herne Bay - thanks to its In Bloom committee. They installed flower baskets of red and white geraniums over the town’s bollards in the High Street, with help from city council contractors Serco and money from the county council, just in time for the South and South East England judges to call on Tuesday.

Wooden and three-tier planters were provided by Town Centre Partners. The city council provided plants and compost for the permanent town brick planters. Newhouse Nurseries at Dunkirk prepared the containers. In Bloom spokesman Pam Hobbs said:

“Everyone on the committee worked so hard. Shops and businesses have been excellent, too, as they have had to water the flowers.”

Judges started their inspection at the Appleseed Landscapes project at the entrance to Kent Enterprise House. They were then taken to Herne to see the village’s 700th anniversary flower bed; Herne Junior School; Beacon Hill; Sea View Road to the Downs; the Girl Guide centenary garden near the Kings Hall and then to Hampton via the High Street. Judges met foreshore manager Tom Hawkins at the pier then walked the seafront to meet town coordinator Chris West at the Beach Walk dry garden. He took them to see the basket tree in William Street donated by Denne Construction & Coplan, who also provided a water bowser, which is kept by Peter Goodwin, of Wilbees estate agents. The judges also visited Memorial Park before finishing at Richmond Court.

It was a race against time to get the garden at the entrance to Kent Enterprise House ready for the judges. Bosses only received permission from Kent Highways to use the area next to The Links roundabout on Thursday - giving them less than five days to finish the project.

Workers from the Appleseed Landscapes charity pulled out all the stops to complete their entry for Herne Bay In Bloom. Gardeners went straight to work digging and removed turf for the spiral design. Compost from Viridot; made from green waste from the district, arrived on Friday. By Monday it was all dug in, just as the plants arrived from council contractors Serco. By the end of Monday all were planted according to the design.

All that was left on Tuesday was for the edges to be completed and conservation features to be installed. Insect boxes were made by the Hambrook Marshes team and nailed to wooden posts around the flower bed. Homes for stag beetles were built using wood from Hambrook Marshes.