GREEN-fingered volunteers are hoping their hard work has caught the eye of Beautiful Scotland judges.

Two judges from the national competition visited Haddington last Thursday but were keeping tight-lipped as to whether or not the town had impressed.

Joe Forte, chairman of Blooming Haddington, led the judges on a tour across the town after months of hard work.

Neilson Park, St Mary’s Pleasance Garden, Amisfield Walled Garden and the River Tyne were among the stops to come under the watchful eye of the two judges.

Mr Forte paused to speak to the Courier at the Bridge Centre during the busy tour of the town.

He said: “It’s going great.

“We’ve been blessed by the weather today, yesterday was a completely different story but the sunshine brings out the best in everything.

“The judges seem very relaxed so far on the tour and have been quite impressed with what they saw.

“Neilson Park was stunning and the girl at the Infant School, the community warden, was showing the work she has done with the school kids throughout the year.” The nationwide competition is a long-established community environmental improvement initiative managed in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society.

Previously known as Beautiful Scotland In Bloom, the initiative supports community groups across Scotland as they seek to improve and enhance their local environment.

Beautiful Scotland is a competition with an extensive set of categories and awards, and its winners can progress to the sister Britain In Bloom competition and thereafter to the international Entente Florale.

Mr Forte, who runs Joe Forte Sports on the town’s High Street, praised the effort of all those from a variety of different groups throughout the town who had banded together to ensure the town was looking its best for the big day.

He also thanked both the local authority and North Berwick In Bloom, which has been taking part in the competition for a number of years, for its help in Blooming Haddington’s first bid for glory.

Mr Forte added: “This is just the start, this is just the first step on the ladder.

“We are novices and it has been a real learning experience for us.” Now, attention switches to September 5, when the award winners will be announced in Dundee.