Judges have descended on Colne and its surrounding villages to see how green-fingered residents have been helping their area to bloom.
Visits were made to the town, as well as to Trawden and Laneshaw Bridge, as part of the Royal Horticultural Society’s North West in Bloom competition.
The contest encourages communities to create and maintain attractive environments that benefit residents and visitors alike.
And in Pendle community spirit has been in full flow, with members of each group working tirelessly to ensure their part of the borough would leave a lasting impression on judging day. Results will be announced at a glittering ceremony later this year.
For the Colne in Bloom team, residents, businesses and schools have all been going to extra lengths to ensure their town can once again win gold in the “Large Town” category. Newlyweds Mark and Jackie Upward even postponed their holiday to be a part of the celebrations, and Colne Primet Academy student Kyle Hall (14) used his two year experience with the Colne in Bloom team to begin a gardening club at his school.
Chairman of the group Coun. Dorothy Lord said: “We are all very proud of what we have achieved over the past ten years - not just us, but the whole of the community.
“We have had the best ‘Bloomers’ ever, who have been working morning, noon and night doing what they can.
“We were the only town in East Lancashire to begin with, and now in the borough there are seven groups - we are all rooting for one another.”
In Trawden, “Bloomers” are in their fifth year of entering the horticultural contest. They have gone from being awarded Bronze, to Silver, to Silver Gilt in the Large Village category, and are now hopeful they have done enough to scoop gold.
Trawden parish councillor Bev Robinson, who thanked the Friends of Wycoller and Grow Trawden for their efforts, said: “It was a beautiful day until right at the end, and we were all quite positive when we came back.
“You never really know, but it looked clean and tidy, and the judges certainly seemed interested.”
And in their second year in the competition, Laneshaw Bridge in Bloom are also hoping to improve on their Silver award of 2013.
Coun. Margaret Foxley said: “We have been very lucky with the weather, as it has been a gorgeous day. We think the judges have been very impressed.
“We made a big thing of the Tour De France, and put two yellow bicycles in the memorial garden full of flowers. It is only our second year and people are seeing that it really does make a difference when everybody pulls together.”