For almost two decades George Smith was a leading light in Perthshire horticultural circles, pouring heart and soul into his home village of Bridge of Earn, in particular.
Affectionately known as “Mr Bloom” by residents, he led Brig in Bloom to gold medal success in both the Beautiful Scotland and Take a Pride in Perthshire Awards.
Sadly, his most ambitious project was one he was unable to see through as illness claimed his life in 2017.
Locals following in his footsteps, however, are working to ensure the ‘Balmanno and Brickhall Community Garden’ becomes a reality and serves as fitting tribute to “a special man”.
Fundraising has been a lengthy endeavour, but Brig in Bloom are how now reached their target figure, with a £5,348 grant from The Big Lottery Fund the final boost.
There has already been backing from supporters such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, Perth and Kinross Council, the Gannochy Trust, the Lochelbank Windfarm Fund and Tesco Bags of Help.
The hope is the garden will provide a tranquil place in which to relax, with plans for seating, paths, planting and dry stone walls, and also become a haven for wildlife.
Mr Smith’s envisaged much more and a huge cultural project has been taking place with the help of local people and the children of Dunbarney Primary School.
Bridge of Earn residents have been sharing stories with the pupils about the village’s farming life and local agriculture between the 1940s and 1960s which will be incorporated in a “listening post” at the garden.
Kilgraston pupils have also been researching the history of Brickhall Farm, where the garden will be created.
Project leader Avril Fulton said: “We’ve now gathered all the funding we need to make the project a reality – just short of £50,000.
“We have not decided on a final name for the garden yet but the committee members are all agreed that it is going to be called after George.
“He was a founder member of Brig in Bloom and worked tirelessly for it for over 19 years, driving forward all its projects.
“He was so dedicated and did so much. The garden will be a very fitting tribute to him once complete.”
The Brig in Bloom committee hopes the garden could be open to the public by mid-June – a date that is important to some of the younger members of the project team.
“The heritage part of the project is now almost complete, with the Dunbarney pupils recording the interviews that will go into the listening post and Kilgraston pupils researching the history of the Brickhall Farm.
“The participation of the primary seven class at Dunbarney has been huge and I would love to see the garden open before they move on to secondary school.”
