Aberdeen has been recognised in all its blooming glory after the city scooped seven awards in the Beautiful Scotland horticultural awards.
Seaton Park shone for the judges ruling over the competition, with the city council taking The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society Trophy for the prime open space.
The Beautiful Scotland judges described the park as a “jewel” in Aberdeen’s parks portfolio and singled out The Cathedral walk for its high standard of design.
The judges added: “The lawns are maintained to an exceptional high standard, showing a great degree of skill and knowledge by the small team who are ably supported by a dedicated Friends of Seaton Park who work in close co-operation.”
High praise was also in store for Aberdeen Inspired, which has worked transform neglected parts of the city using flower beds and planters, and took the Silver Gilt Medal Award. It was also named the overall winner in the Business Improvement District category.
Growing Smarter, The Granite City – which co-ordinates all the bloom groups in Aberdeen to maximise the effects of their work – took home the gold medal award and named the overall winner in the city category.
Individual residents groups also had a good day at the awards, which were held in Perth.
Cove in Bloom took the silver medal award in the urban community category while Culter in Bloom took the silver gilt medal award in the same category.
Meanwhile, Dyce in Bloom was named the overall winner of the group.
Aberdeen City Council Communities, Housing and Infrastructure vice convener Councillor Jean Morrison said it was a fantastic achievement by all.
She said: “Congratulations to everyone who was involved – it’s a fantastic achievement and is an accolade to all the hard work put in by all.
“Our parks, rangers and events team staff members put in a huge effort to ensure our green spaces are fun and accessible places with events on for everyone, and of course are also beautiful throughout the year.
“The community groups also have to be congratulated for the amount of work and effort put in by them to help make this happen and they are a very important part of ensuring our beautiful city has green spaces and flower beds we can be proud of.”
Derek Robertson, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “We sometimes forget the massive impact that a clean and safe environment has on local communities. But, there is ample evidence that a good local environment can deliver a broad range of associated benefits in terms of physical and mental health and wellbeing, community cohesion and civic pride, and the creation of economic opportunities.
“All the Beautiful Scotland entrants make a difference, and today’s Award ceremony is an important opportunity for us to recognise the efforts of everyone involved.
“The ‘Granite City’ has excelled this year, with seven awards being bestowed on the local authority and communities. I would like to congratulate them all for their efforts to make Scotland a cleaner, greener place for us all to enjoy today and tomorrow.”
