Businesses help Harrogate in Bloom

New businesses in Harrogate have joined other businesses around the town who will be helping Harrogate look blooming lovely this summer. In total, 60 businesses are supporting the town’s hanging basket scheme this year.

Harrogate Borough Council produces 600 hanging baskets for the town as part of its summer display but in partnership with Harrogate in Bloom it also provides a further 134 at a subsidised rate. These baskets are made available to town centre businesses. The council’s award winning Parks and Environmental Services Team grow the plants, produce the baskets, then hang, water and maintain them throughout the summer.

Lynne Mee, Hanging Basket co-ordinator for Harrogate in Bloom, thanks all the businesses who have taken part this year. She added:

Many of these businesses have been buying baskets from us for years but it is lovely to have new companies on board this year particularly Susie Watson Designs and India Mahon Jewellery who are new businesses in the Montpellier Quarter. Nearly all businesses in the Quarter will be putting up hanging baskets so the area is going to look even more lovely. Our flower beds, parks and gardens are always stunning but the hanging baskets at shops, cafes, restaurants and offices are always popular and do add something to the front of business premises.

Visitors are vital to Harrogate’s economy so as always we are trying to make sure the town looks its best. We have an outstanding In Bloom record having won the Yorkshire in Bloom title 33 times, Britain in Bloom 12 times and Europe in Bloom twice the only town ever to have achieved that double. We’ll be pulling out all the stops to be ready for Yorkshire in Bloom judging day on 18 July.

The council’s central nursery grows 277,000 summer bedding plants from seed and about 24,000 of them will be used in the 800 hanging baskets that it puts up around the district. The council is always looking to reduce impact on natural resources and no longer uses moss in these baskets. They also use baskets that have a gallon water reservoir so that plants can draw up water as they need it. It also means the council only needs to top up every three days or so depending on the weather. This is less stressful for plants too as they are not constantly becoming dry and then wet. So that’s why our baskets are so beautiful!

The hanging baskets will go up first week in June and businesses taking part in this year’s scheme are: