Melfort was given five blooms from the judges in last year's national competition. (Facebook/Melfort Communities in Bloom)

By Mat Barrett

Communities in Bloom

Melfort Communities in Bloom going national for second year

Feb 19, 2020 | 1:30 PM

The cheque has been sent, and it’s now official; Communities in Bloom Melfort is competing nationally once again.

Last year, the group was able to compete for the first time after winning at the provincial level in 2018. Committee Member Shannon Marshall said they want to make it bigger and better this time around.

“We actually were recognized with five blooms,” she said. “We just didn’t get an ‘Honoured Distinction’, so we’re looking for that this year with our competition. So we did exceptionally well, especially for our first year competing [at nationals].”

Melfort got 82.5 per-cent from last year’s judges, just 2.5 per-cent short of a bronze ranking. Marshall said there were a few projects that were not completely done that affected their score. She said they will get done for this year. Projects like the cemetery project, as well as filling the community gardens are expected to be done in time for judging.

Melfort did receive an Outstanding Achievement Award for the landscape category and a special mention for the meditation garden at the cemetery.

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“Keeping up with what we have, maintaining,” Marshall told northeastNOW. “We’ve done some bigger projects in the past which we are very proud of. So just finishing those up, again, finishing up the cemetery project, finishing up the community garden space, getting those rolling, and just really keeping our community neat, tidy, clean, and looking outstanding for the judges when they come.”

She said for citizens, it’s a lot about having civic pride and making sure our neighbourhoods are tidy. Marshall asked residents that if they see some unsightly parts of theirs or others’ yards, try and tidy it, or if it’s major, call the City of Melfort to help as well.

There’s no word yet on an exact date for the judges’ arrival, but Marshall said they are expecting them in late June or early July.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6