BLOOMING Haddington volunteers face a nervy wait to see if their green-fingered efforts have struck gold.

Beautiful Scotland judges visited the town on August 5 and were given a guided tour of the horticultural highlights by members of the voluntary group.

Judges provide little in the way of guidance of the success of the tour, with groups from throughout the country learning their fate next month during a virtual ceremony.

Frances Wright was welcoming the judges to the town for the first time since she becoming chairwoman of Blooming Haddington.

She said: “It went very well.Obviously, you do not get much feedback from the judges.

“We started up at Amisfield Walled Garden and then brought them down – things were all very different because of Covid, normally we take them on a bus tour.

“This year, we had to walk and were limited to the number of people they could meet at each of the gardens.”

After leaving Amisfield Walled Gardens, the two judges, Colin Ainsworth and Gregor McGillivray, headed into the town centre.

Starting in front of Haddington Corn Exchange, they visited The Loft before seeing the newly created bug hotel outside the public toilets on Neilson Park Road. From there, it was on to Neilson Park and the oriental garden before heading towards St Mary’s Parish Church and Lady Kitty’s Garden.

Judges stopped off in St Mary’s Pleasance, which “was looking fantastic”, before heading back towards the High Street.

During the judging tour, three themes are examined – horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility – to discover which communities have been most successful in improving the attractiveness, cleanliness and sustainability of the places they care for.

Communities will be presented with medal certificates at a virtual celebration event on September 23.

A number of discretionary awards will also be presented for outstanding performance in areas such as biodiversity, tourism and community involvement.

Some of the winners from Beautiful Scotland 2021 will go on to represent Scotland in the UK-wide RHS Britain in Bloom Finals in 2022.

Frances said the judges seemed happy with their visit to Haddington but stressed “they keep things close to their chest”.

She thanked staff from East Lothian Council for their efforts in trying to ensure that the town was looking at its best for the visit.

Provost John McMillan, who represents the Haddington and Lammermuir ward, was happy to join judges and volunteers on the tour and echoed the praise for those responsible for Haddington looking “its best”.

The councillor highlighted the efforts of towns and villages throughout the county in making sure they too were looking impressive.

He said: “The judges were, of course, pretty neutral and objective but they were very engaging.

“From my point of view, it had caused a lot of buzz round the town.

“People were noticing not just the judges but the lovely baskets and planters.”