Forres In Bloom worked around lockdown on town's floral displays

VOLUNTEERS have ensured the town is blooming despite the coronavirus lockdown.

Beautiful Scotland award winners, Forres In Bloom (FIB), used careful planning to adjust over the last three months to ensure members' safety while tending to the numerous floral displays that would usually attract a swarm of buzzing tourists to town.

FIB chairwoman, Diane McGregor, confirmed the group start planning in the autumn, ordering summer plants from suppliers to arrive in February and March as plugs.

She said: "This year was difficult as many did not come due to Covid-19 affecting growers. We managed to work with timetabling and social distancing to keep the plugs that did come, growing in our greenhouses. Some of our volunteers have grown plants from seed at home which helped with the deficit. We have had to plant what we had and with greater spacing to make plants go further."

She added: "We have had a limited number of volunteers too.

"We have had a lot of favourable comments from people walking in the park saying how much they appreciate seeing the park planted and how it cheers them up now that they are able to get out."

Last September, FIB won a Gold medal, the Medium Town category and received the Jim Murdie Trophy for Sustainability at the 53rd Beautiful Scotland Awards, organised by environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful.

The recognition adds to a list of accolades FIB has earned for Forres including Britain In Bloom trophies, regularly putting the town in the national spotlight.

The most impressive display is always in Grant Park and this year is no different.

Gazette photographer, Daniel Forsyth of Elgin, was on his way to a job elsewhere in Forres when the eye-catching display made him pull over.

He said: "I knew it would make a good photo spread. I wanted others to see what FIB have done and the results of all their hard work. It must have taken them hundreds of hours, a great team effort."