Oswaldtwistle Hanging baskets

firefighter753 · 21-06-2006, 13:35

What an absolute disgrace and waste of money, As I walked the length of Union road today I noticed all the hanging baskets which Peter Britcliffe thought would brighten up our town and which we all paid for out of our taxes, are nearly all dead. Instead of being at there full bloom at this time of year they are all shrivelled up and brown and there are dozens of them. This council is turning our town into a laughing stock. YOU HAVE TO WATER THEM AS WELL PETER. I wonder how much they cost to put up, one or two people have watered there own, good on them, but they shouldn't need to. Peter have a look at Blackburns Baskets - they water theirs.

entwisi · 21-06-2006, 14:50

On teh other hand, I noticed some green leaves on the new trees on broadway, perhaps they aren't all dead after all

garinda · 21-06-2006, 16:23

It is a waste of money.

Probably seemed a good idea just before the election.

I already started a thread about what I thought of these dead blooms.

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...hlight=bloomin

Neil · 21-06-2006, 16:40

Gary if you had taken me up on my offer of a lift to the Area Council meeting you would have heard that the dead ones are the winter ones and the summer ones are due to go up soon. You would also have learnt what the new summer ones cost. It looks a little late to me for summer ones going up ( says me with a dead winter one still hanging next to the front door

)

garinda · 21-06-2006, 16:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

Gary if you had taken me up on my offer of a lift to the Area Council meeting you would have heard that the dead ones are the winter ones and the summer ones are due to go up soon. You would also have learnt what the new summer ones cost. It looks a little late to me for summer ones going up ( says me with a dead winter one still hanging next to the front door

)

How do you know I wasn't there?

I said in my original thread I know they were 'winter hanging baskets'.

My own has been out since the first of May, and looks fantastic, thanks to watering twice a day and a weekly feed.

Good luck to the Ossy ones, which will suffer even more than the winter ones from lack of water. Even if it rains they need water every day.

Gayle · 21-06-2006, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

Gary if you had taken me up on my offer of a lift to the Area Council meeting you would have heard that the dead ones are the winter ones and the summer ones are due to go up soon. You would also have learnt what the new summer ones cost. It looks a little late to me for summer ones going up ( says me with a dead winter one still hanging next to the front door

)

Wasn't the idea that the bulbs for summer were planted under the winter ones so that when the winter ones died off the summer ones started pushing through so that new ones didn't have to go up? Didn't we get told that this would save money by only having to be hung once? So, am I right in understanding that the winter ones are being replaced with summer ones because the plan didn't work?

In all fairness to Britcliffe on this one, my understanding was also that the council would do this and place them outside shops that wanted one on the understanding that the shop keepers themselves would take some responsibility for caring for them.

So six of one and half dozen of the other on this one!

WillowTheWhisp · 21-06-2006, 17:31

I thought the shopkeepers were asked to look after them and keep them watered. Wasn't it optional for them to have one?

Neil · 21-06-2006, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

How do you know I wasn't there?

Because from where I was sat I could see everyone. You were not there.

garinda · 21-06-2006, 22:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

Because from where I was sat I could see everyone. You were not there.

They seek him here, they seek him there, that effin' Rindy's died his hair.

In answer top Gayle, the bulbs were meant to come up in the spring, after the winter flowering plants had died. They were never intended to last until the summer.

My Ma told Peter when offered a hanging basket that she didn't have the inclination to go out everyday, after carrying the steps outside, to water a basket that would have to be high enough to deter the vandals. Especially when she'd been rolling out teacakes since six am, when Peter was still tucked up under his duvet.

Other towns/cities have hanging baskets that are watered by council workers. Perhaps less baskets and someone to care for them would give us a better chance in the Britain in Bloom competition next year.

garinda · 22-06-2006, 08:27

I had a thought in the middle of the night!

The baskets could be planted up with things that would survive on rain water alone. Things like house leeks, sedums, alpines, even some ivies. There are lots of flowering sedums which would grow down a hanging basket beautifully all year round with no care needed.

Initially it would be slightly more expensive than using bedding plants, but they would care for themselves, green up Union Road, and look much better than rows of dead hanging baskets merrily swinging in the breeze.

accymel · 22-06-2006, 08:56

Blimey Rind you were being horticultural in your sleep LOL

I have a healthy supply of ivy, weird stick leaf thingys, thriving weeds etc that grow too bloody well without manual water intervention in my back garden if PB wants to take it all off my hands for free & it survives all year round all weathers etc , nobody needs to bother with them they do it themselves.

accymel · 22-06-2006, 08:58

Blooming heck 'horticultural'..............a big word for me this time of day

Gayle · 22-06-2006, 10:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

They seek him here, they seek him there, that effin' Rindy's died his hair.

In answer top Gayle, the bulbs were meant to come up in the spring, after the winter flowering plants had died. They were never intended to last until the summer.

My Ma told Peter when offered a hanging basket that she didn't have the inclination to go out everyday, after carrying the steps outside, to water a basket that would have to be high enough to deter the vandals. Especially when she'd been rolling out teacakes since six am, when Peter was still tucked up under his duvet.

Other towns/cities have hanging baskets that are watered by council workers. Perhaps less baskets and someone to care for them would give us a better chance in the Britain in Bloom competition next year.

I was being nice and trying to be supportive to our leader for once but you're right, what was I thinking - it was a numb idea and not surprisingly didn't work! The council should be maintaining them if they offer to put them there in the first place.

garinda · 22-06-2006, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayle

I was being nice and trying to be supportive to our leader for once but you're right, what was I thinking - it was a numb idea and not surprisingly didn't work! The council should be maintaining them if they offer to put them there in the first place.

I too suport the idea of making the whole borough greener and more attractive, not just Ossy. I think the initial idea was doomed to failure because of the frequent up keep needed. Looking at some of the sloping pavements in Ossy I wouldn't like to mount a pair of step ladders to water a basket.

The more I've thought about it succulent hanging baskets wouldn't be any more expensive than filling them with winter/summer bedding plants. If you wanted them to be seasonal you could under plant with minature flowering bulbs such as narcissi and irises.

Once they were in place they would need no maintainance at all, and also help conserve water because they get what they need from the atmosphere. I have a great display of house leeks just growing on a stone.

We could be greening the place up at the same time as being green.

garinda · 22-06-2006, 13:56

Latest update.

Just got back from having my haircut at my cousin's hairdressers. The summer hanging baskets have been erected today and do look very nice at the moment, although the ones outside her shop and Owen and Ewings are hung fifteen feet off the pavement. They were told another man is coming round next week if people want them moved lower, so that they can be watered. At the moment you'd have to have a pair of window cleaner's ladders to water them. It might have saved man hours if this task had just been done once and they had been put in the right place to begin with.

Interestingly whilst I was being shorn, a HBC truck came round and watered the ones that had been hung from the lamposts last week. So the council do water those.

Also because the shopkeepers have to store the winter flowering ones I managed to give one a closer inspection. Although it was stone dry the ivy was still green amongst the other dead plants, leading me to believe that they could be planted with species that require no maintenance at all.