Gardeners were weeding and watering today ahead of the arrival of East Midlands in Bloom judges.
Leicester will be aiming to impress the judges tomorrow and secure a prize for the third year running. The city won a silver gilt award last year and a gold award in 2005 in the urban regeneration category. The city council has planted more than 12,000 bedding plants and more than 350 hanging baskets, troughs and planters. Council teams have cleaned street furniture, removed graffiti and worked on landscaping schemes.
Businesses, organisations and children have also pitched in. Volunteers from Working Links, an organisation which helps people get back to work, planted flowers in Town Hall Square. Businesses including the Ramada Jarvis hotel and Maiyango restaurant have added more plants and flowers to their premises. Children from Slater Primary, off St Margaret's Way, made hanging baskets for their playground and the city centre. The council's gardening team were given a hand by colleagues from other departments as they cleared and replanted beds outside council offices in Welford Place.
Stuart Marbrook, city council area parks manager, said: "East Midlands in Bloom encourages communities to make positive and lasting improvements to their areas. Everyone involved has made a fantastic effort this year."
Judges will follow a route through the city that starts at the Ramada Jarvis, in Granby Street and finishes in Guildhall Lane. It will weave through streets including Gallowtree Gate, New Walk, Town Hall Square and St Martin's Square. The winners of the competition will be announced at the end of August.
