Yesterday we mentioned Boston in Bloom, which has suddenly become the competition which we must enter at all costs.
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom is the largest horticultural campaign in the United Kingdom, and despite the fact that it was first held half a century ago this year as a British Tourist Board promotion, and has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society since 2002, Boston entered for the first time last year.
There is no doubt that such events bring benefits – and last year, given the low key level of our entry –  it was surprising that Boston received awarded a silver award in the large towns, East Midlands, category.
Having said that, the category was sufficiently narrow almost to guarantee a result of some kind, but was greeted with an almost hysterical reaction, given that as far as we could tell, our display consisted of a few wooden planters of flowers.
Earlier, we mentioned benefits – and the most notable, perhaps, was that attractive plantings which should have been introduced long ago in the Market Place in particular appeared as if by magic.
More of the same is promised for this year’s entry, and the good news is that Lincolnshire County Council has agreed to pay for the bigger timber planters.
But underlying all the planning is the usual Boston malaise of too many cooks being involved.
Boston in Bloom is “overseen” by a steering group which includes from Boston Business “Improvement” District, Boston Preservation Trust, Boston Borough Council, Boston Mayflower, Lincolnshire Community Volunteers Service, Boston Greenscapers, ASDA, South Lincolnshire Horticultural Society and Thistles Market Garden and Nursery, which helps students and adults with learning disabilities. In turn, the Steering Group works closely with Friends of Witham Way Country Park, Boston West Primary School, Park Primary School and the North Sea Camp open prison.
That’s a total of thirteen participants – which is about ten too many.
Lamentably, Boston BID plays the lead role in this – and its lacklustre approach to projects is almost legendary.
Take a look at the company’s website if you want to see what we mean – note how out of date it is … and this from a group which is hoping to be re-elected in a ballot of businesses later this year.
And where, for instance is what one would consider the most appropriate member of the steering group – someone from Johnson’s garden centre … a local firm that is one of the oldest and largest centres of its kind in Lincolnshire?
The RHS theme for 2013 is ‘edible’ and Boston Borough Council has announced that the Custom House Quay area is to get a facelift and illustrate its historic connections with Boston's trading and fishing industries.
Frankly, we would have thought that a wider canvas would have been to take the subject theme in relation to the area’s role in the wider food growing and processing industry – but then what do we know?
At least, one result will be a brighter looking Boston – but  the sad thing is that that it has taken what amounts to a bribe in the form of a piece of silver to finally encourage the powers that be to get to grips with some much needed and long overdue improvements.
What do we say that?
Well, in addition to the Custom House Quay improvements – which include pressure cleaning/weeding the area, repairing paving slabs and walls, repainting the street furniture and replacing the missing information board, the Boston in Bloom “to do” list includes
• Providing more imaginative planting schemes in the Ingram Memorial/ Market Place area incorporating some all-year round permanent planting to provide height and impact
• Re-painting as much of the town centre furniture as the maintenance budget permits and carrying out chewing gum removal in the town centre.
Surely many of these tasks should have been tackled in the past as part of the town’s “routine maintenance?”
And we were particularly interested to learn that another idea to charm the Britain in Bloom judges is to block-pave the two grassed areas outside the Post Office/Park Gate entrance which are damaged each year by the May Fair.
It’s almost five years since Boston Borough Council wasted £7,000 on a machine to remove chewing gum from the town’s pavements.
After a photo opportunity, it disappeared from the public gaze – although we think it has been trotted out once more in that time.
When it was demonstrated, it made a remarkable difference to the look of the streets.
And how many years have the May Fair vehicles been chewing up the grassed area by the Post Office?
Yet only now has the council decided that the problem needs addressing.
Not for the first time, it is seizing the benefits associated with third party events to get other people to do its job for it.
Blooming marvellous!

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