Photo Credit: Lynn Pelletier

Merrickville-Wolford is playing host to two special guests this week for the annual Communities in Bloom competition.

The Merrickville-Wolford in Bloom team have been working hard over the past few months to get the municipality ready for the 2019 judging. Merrickville-Wolford in Bloom Chair, Hope W. Gray, says her team has focused specifically on beautifying some of the Municipality’s public spaces, such as the cenotaph park, the parkette near the blockhouse, and around Centennial Hall in Easton’s Corners. “We have planted new perennials all around the hall,” Hope says, adding that the team has been out feeding and watering the gardens and planters in municipal areas, especially on particularly hot days.

Hope says they have had to make do with less this year, as they only received half of the funds they had been previously given by the municipality. Their volunteer base has also dwindled, making preparations for the judges’ arrival particularly challenging. “I am proud of what we were able to do with a smaller budget,” Hope says. “The Merrickville-Wolford in Bloom team worked really hard.”

Merrickville-Wolford is competing in the 2,501 to 7,501 population category, along with Bay Roberts, NL, Madawaska Valley, ON, Melfort, SK, and Windsor, NS. The judges in this category are Evelyn Alemanni from Elfin Forest, California, and Lucy Chang from Ottawa. Lucy was one of the judges who evaluated Merrickville-Wolford in 2017.

Hope said last week that they were feeling ready for the judges’ arrival, and were looking forward to showing off the municipality. “We are very excited and proud,” she said.

The judges are touring the Village on Wednesday this week and will evaluate the municipality on tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape, and floral displays. The national and international results will be announced at the annual Communities in Bloom Symposium and Awards Ceremony in Yarmouth, NS at the end of September.

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