ABERLADY’S gardening group has been busy behind the scenes preparing the village for summer, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and the upcoming Beautiful Scotland competition.

Aberlady in Bloom was established in 2018 as a means for the community to make the village all it could be in relation to natural beauty, biodiversity and care for the local environment.

Last month, a formal ceremony was arranged and attended by pupils from Aberlady Primary School and Roderick Urquhart, Lord Lieutenant of East Lothian, to plant a Queen’s Green Canopy-initiative oak tree and apple trees along School Road, beside the football field.

A spokesperson for Aberlady in Bloom said: “The blossom is starting to appear and, to get the apple trees well established, we will remove any young fruit which appears after the blossom in this first year.

“Those of you who have been out and about will have spotted the spring bulbs which have bloomed at the top of Haddington Road and also areas we have just seeded with wildflower mix outside the village hall.”

The group of volunteers has been supported by members of the community, who have donated funds to sponsor hanging baskets and the purchase of wildflower seeds.

The spokesperson continued: “We had a fabulous response from residents and have given away all 30 packets, so we should see lots of bees and butterflies in the summer.

“We hope that the existing planters and new hanging baskets, as well as other sites such as our two inns and the bowling club, will be planted up to reflect the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee theme of purple.

“It would be great to see some of you [residents] following this theme when selecting plants for your front gardens this year.”

The Aberlady in Bloom team’s hard work will form part of its entry to the Beautiful Scotland competition, when they aim to build on last year’s Silver Gilt award.