Blooming marvellous giveaway in Yeovil! (From Yeovil Express)

Blooming marvellous giveaway in Yeovil!

1:00pm Saturday 15th May 2010 in News By Steve Sowden

GREEN-FINGERED enthusiasts in Yeovil and surrounding area are being given the chance to get their hands on some free polyanthus and tulip bulbs later this month.

South Somerset District Council’s horticulture team will be giving away thousands of bulbs from St John’s Churchyard in Yeovil on Monday, May 24.

The team will be onsite from 8.30am removing the current award-winning spring display from the ground, and the bulbs will be given away to anyone who would like to take them home.

A lorry full of plants taken out of local roundabouts – which will now be replanted with an impressive summer bedding display – will also be at the churchyard on the day.

Last year over 1,000 plants were collected by eager green-fingered residents within the first hour, and the district council’s teams had given away all of the plants by 10.30am.

Yeovil in Bloom officer, Lesley Jelleyman, said: “The advice is to take along a heavy duty bag or rucksack and take away as many as you like –it will save the plants going to compost and the bulbs will certainly brighten up our local back gardens.”

The council’s environment spokesman, Cllr Tom Parsley, said: “One of the responsibilities of our horticulture team is to keep the district looking good.

“We rotate our wonderful floral displays on a seasonal basis so it’s nice to be able offer local people the chance to have some of last season’s bulbs.”

The Yeovil in Bloom displays, which began in 1996, are funded by Yeovil Town Council and designed and managed by South Somerset District Council’s Streetscene team and the In Bloom and Flower and Gardeners Market steering group.

Yeovil won gold in last year’s South West in Bloom competition and eight neighbourhood awards in the Britain in Bloom contest.