EVENWOOD is looking a lot brighter and more colourful this summer following the start of a new in-bloom group.
Teaching assistants Kay Gill and Jacqueline Gibey started Evenwood-in-Bloom in March, and thanks to their efforts a host of new planters have been dotted around the village.
Ms Gibey said: “This all came about after volunteering with our local community, doing monthly litter picks and thinking about how we could improve Evenwood.”
They began simply by creating planters out of disused tyres outside Evenwood Primary School and children have been involved in planting seedlings.
The latest addition to the village’s floral display is a four-tier planter donated by CA Group.
Ms Gibey said: “It is lovely when you come into the village and that is the first thing you see.
“The feedback we have had is really positive and the kids are enjoying seeing the flowers grow.
“We have had a lot of support from Durham County Council about where we can put things and where we can’t and we run everything past the parish council because they own the land.”
The group recently received a cash boost of £500 from the Randolph Community Centre where two planters have been placed and are looked after by centre manager John Bogle.
Prior to that the group raised cash through raffles and from donations by people in the village and the local football team.
Cash was also received from former county councillor Heather Smith and Ray Swainston, from the village, who started the monthly litter pick.
The in-bloom group plans to use some of the cash to beautify the four entrances to the village.
They also plan to plant crocus and snowdrop bulbs and sow wildflower seeds.
Ms Gill said: “When people visit the village we want them not only to see that the people are nice, but that the village is nice as well.
