SUMMER flowers are glorious to match the sunshine in Liskeard thanks to the hard work of dedicated volunteers.

Liskeard in Bloom have planted and put out more than 100 hanging baskets around the town centre, as well as placing new additions into the beds and boxes. And during weather which would have most of us sitting down and reaching for a long cool drink, the team knows that the flowers need a drink too, so they’ve been out every evening making sure the new plants are watered.

The Liskeard in Bloom team hopes not only that their efforts will bring joy to residents but also that they’ll boost footfall in the town centre. When judges from the Royal Horticultural Society visit next month, it’s hoped Liskeard will win back the coveted South West in Bloom Commercial, Leisure & Tourism Gold Award.

“Every independent business in Fore Street has stepped up to the mark to buy in to our flower displays this year, and we have almost completed our planting there,” said John Hesketh.

“The final finishing touches will come when we install some extra clusters of flowering tubs of shrubs by the entrances at Pike Street and Bay Tree Hill.

“When in October last year we started planning our 2023 summer season, inflation was running at over 11% and all the indications were that hard times were just around the corner,” John continued.

“The Steering Group made the decision to absorb any price increases coming into us, and agreed to hold our prices as they had been for the previous three years. This means some extra fundraising efforts on our part to subsidise the extra costs, but we didn’t want to let anyone down by pricing them out of the opportunity to get Liskeard blooming again.”

When the new Workshed in the Cattle Market opens later this summer, people will be able to admire six enormous planters, brimming with coronation flowers, alongside the new offices.

“We’ll also be making an extra effort to line the entrances into the market with tubs of matching blooms, joining the award-winning hanging baskets you’ll find outside the old sheds and workshops facing onto the new Workshed.”