A SMALL team has been doing heroic work to keep Ludlow green during the heatwave.

The town’s chances of resuming its long list of gold awards in the Heart of England in Bloom competition could have been ended as hot and dry weather came to the town.

It was an unwelcome heatwave for the team at Ludlow in Bloom that is preparing the town’s bid in 2021.

Last year the competition did not take place but it is going ahead this year, albeit in a different format.

Instead of two judges coming to the town as is usually the case, the competition this year involves submitting a portfolio.

This will include photographs and other information.

But there had been feared that all that the judges might see would be images of shrivelled up flowers and bone hard soil.

The problem was made worse because many of the exhibits in Ludlow are in plant pots for hanging baskets.

These are especially vulnerable to hot and dry weather.

A spell without rain means that they dry out quickly with the plants wilting and dying unless there is human intervention.

This is where the team organised by Vivienne Parry comes into play.

Mrs Parry, who is a Ludlow town councillor and also the Shropshire councillor for Ludlow south, is the long standing head of the Ludlow in Bloom group.

She says that without the hard work of volunteers, in the hot and dry temperatures, the town would not be looking good for the influx of visitors.

“It has been very tough and a real slog in the heat,” she said.

“We have had to keep watering almost constantly because pots and baskets can dry out so quickly.”

Using a portable bowser, the ‘in bloom’ volunteers will have poured thousands of gallons of water on the plants.

But the efforts have paid off and Ludlow is looking good as it goes into August and sends off its portfolio.