ST PETER PORT could be a riot of flowers in future. Hot on the heels of the parish’s Floral Guernsey success, in which it scooped the prize for best douzaine room, senior constable Richard Barneby said it had what it took to be a future Britain in Bloom contender.

In order to qualify for the national competition, the parish has to win the community section of the Floral Guernsey awards.

‘Hopefully, when all the building work is done in St Peter Port, we will enter the community competition again,’ he said.

‘But until the Royal Hotel site, the Savoy and the Markets are finished, we haven’t got a product to sell.

‘We also need to get Town businesses on board because the community competition involves shops, places of worship, schools and recycling facilities.’

Mr Barneby said the parish was extremely lucky to have places such as Candie Gardens and praised the efforts of some businesses that already contributed to Town’s floral display.

‘There are lovely little pockets – La Plaiderie is a little gem and when the Royal site is finished, that will be another.’

He acknowledged that it would be an uphill struggle for the parish to qualify for Britain in Bloom because it would be categorised as a small town rather than a parish, such as this year’s entrant, St Andrew’s.

‘We need to be able to present something that is nigh on perfect. There’s work to be done but we will get there in the end and hopefully winning this will be the catalyst to get everyone interested.’

Mr Barneby said it had taken a decade of attempts to finally win the prize.

‘It started with Eileen Glass, who is now a jurat but used to be a constable. She came up with the idea and I was part of the team.’

The first displays were simple, but now with the help of Colin Falla, who plants the flowers, the front of the Constables’ Office is filled with beds of blooms and hanging baskets.

Mr Barneby said it was particularly poignant that Mr Falla helped because his uncle, the late Ossie, was a very good friend.

‘He was a great friend and a tremendous encouragement to persevere.’

He added that several people worked hard on the display, but paid special tribute to Roger Cowley, who tended the flowers twice a day to keep them looking their best.

‘We have automatic watering, which is a great help, and we also have a very special groundsman who deserves credit for deadheading the flowers and removing the litter and making sure it’s all tidy.’

He said it was a very important part of the judging process.

‘You get points for the wow factor; the first impression is a big percentage of the marks. The rest are for the cleanliness of the site and type and condition of the plants.

‘Roger has been tremendous keeping it all clean and tidy. Being a public building, there are cigarette ends and things that the judges don’t like.’