Burgh Beautiful Linlithgow

 

 

Burgh Beautiful – Up for the Challenge!

In a recent publication, Burgh Beautiful was commenting on the amount of rain we have had.  Now it is the amount of sunshine.  My mother who loves the sun wants some rain.  She is concerned for the farmers whose grass will not be growing to allow them to adequately feed their cattle.  You can take the girl out of the farm but not the farm out of the girl and I guess the same is true for gardeners.  We did have some heavy rain a day or two ago but if you have been digging you will know that the ground is still dry.  But given how seldom we have an extended sunny spell, I had better watch what I wish for.

As for Burgh Beautiful, we are having, like everyone, to contend with the coronavirus restrictions. Nonetheless we have the summer hanging baskets all filled and planted, and, at the time of writing, they are being nurtured at our Clarendon base.  They look splendid and will be hung at the very end of May when you can judge for yourself.  Over the next two weeks we see the delivery of the plants for the planters and beds in the town.  These will be major exercises from taking delivery of the plants, sorting them all out, separating them out into lots according to which volunteer needs what, to having them collected.  Usually these are quite social occasions but not this year.  Everyone is having to adhere to a strict timetable in order that we strictly comply with the social distancing guidelines.  Before leaving that point, I must comment on the amount of work by two individuals in particular, sorting out who is due to collect which plants and then timetabling each individual to uplift their plants at a specific time.

The impact of coronavirus continues.  Some of the larger areas which require a team of planters will not be planted up as usual as we are unable to allow a team to work together in some locations so, if you spot blank areas, you will realise the reason.  The floral barrels and containers in the railway station will not be planted up for this summer either, as ScotRail has imposed an embargo on all planting by volunteers in stations in Scotland.

Already some of our volunteers are at work preparing areas such as the new beehive planters outside Platform 3 and opposite West Port Hotel as part of their permitted daily exercise.  The crab apple trees recently planted near the ‘Black Bitch’ statue are doing well, in flower and growing with regular watering by two more volunteers.  Our Water Yett team is planning how to get the planting of summer bedding done in accordance with the current restrictions.  The planting of the various beds in Learmonth Gardens is being thought through and all our individual volunteers are preparing for action.  Ready to roll.

Our Floral Trails booklet has once again been published and will be available for collection at key points in the town when restrictions are relaxed.  Please pick one up as that will provide you with  routes for your walks which will then include Burgh Beautiful’s beds and planters.

Finally, we hope that our efforts will continue to provide some good cheer for the people of Linlithgow as we emerge from a very difficult few months for so many people.

Jean Long for Burgh Beautiful.