Otley in Bloom’s work changes with the season. It starts in December with the fun of the Christmas Tree festival where, at the end of 2022, we gave away sun flower seeds and generated about £120 for the charity Horticap which focuses at helping disabled gardeners. Below I will be mentioning some of the projects we did this year but to discover more just visit www.otleyinbloom.co.uk or www.facebook.com/otleyinbloom.
In the early part of year we carried out a major task spreading 2 tonnes of manure over the four large Wharfe Meadow flower beds, providing probably the first feed and organic material those beds had received in living memory. The benefits of this work included reduced weeds and some great displays helped by some serious summer rain.
Winter and summer
Our core costs of about £550 go on a number of elements including the majority on watering of the 30+ barrier planters but also covers insurance, website and PPE. All other expenditure is focused on maintenance and development programmes around town. Water is manually carried around the town. We have asked if public or semi-public buildings could be fitted with taps but that technology seems to be beyond us.
Planters; and how to care for them
The barrier planters, the Kirkgate planters and some Insta planters were variously fed, cleared out and replanted.
A variety of beds and slightly abandoned spaces (or natural spaces depending on your point of view) were tidied, cut back or planted up. These included a bunch of spaces from Ellar Ghyll recycling centre to Weston Lane and from Charles Street car park to Gallows Hill car park.
Sometimes just stopping things is equally powerful. Asking Leeds council to reduce mowing around the Ilkley Road underpass has brought on some natural wildflowers. We now have a growing flock of Lady’s Smock or Cuckoo Flower there.
This year we have planted over 1000 crocus bulbs and unknown masses of daffodils to the east of the Pool road gate which should show up nicely in the spring.
As an experiment OiB developed a simple wooden window box with Otley Maker Space that could fit cleanly into the front windows of houses that open directly onto the street without the need to damage or drill the stone frames. We ended up providing eleven to North Parade, fully planted up, for a nominal £5. Our eleven seem to have stimulated neighbours into adding a further two of their own. We believe this has enhanced the colourful displays along this busy street.
General comments.
It is clear that litter is much improved throughout the town this year. OiB has not had to carry out a mass clean-up at all this year, probably the first time in 13 years that that can be said, so thank you to the OTC councillors, to the BID and to the people of Otley for keeping this town looking so nice.
The same cannot be said for the growing sites of artless graffiti which seems to hit our telecom boxes and other facilities all over town.
Meanwhile the contract mowers who Leeds council use around town continue to damage trees. Another two trees died this year due to poorly supervised mowing leading to bark ringing while damage to many more are just waiting to be killed.
Otley in Bloom 