Uttoxeter's bid to blossom into the cleanest and greenest community in the land has taken a huge step forward after national judges took part in a tour of the town.
Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) officials saw first-hand the roots of Uxonians' bid to become Britain in Bloom champions.
Sue Wood and Keith Jackson were yesterday, August 3, shown some of the town's most picturesque places.
They witnessed the flora and fauna that helped Uttoxeter win gold in the regional Heart of England in Bloom contest earlier this year.
That achievement resulted in a place in the final of the national competition's town category.
After the tour, Ms Wood addressed community leaders at Uttoxeter Town Hall.
She said: "I'd like to thank Uttoxeter for a brilliant community effort today.
"The thing that's really come through in spades, if you'll excuse the pun, is how closely all the different groups in the town have worked together.
"You're already winners for making it to the Britain in Bloom competition and we wish you all the best for the future."
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The judges were taken from the town hall to the Uttoxeter Library garden, Bradley House, Thomas Alleyne's High School's farm and conservation area and the train station gardens.
They also dropped in at sites including Uttoxeter cemetery, Bramshall Road Park, Uttoxeter Cares and the Millfield allotments.
En-route, they saw countless hanging baskets businesses had put up in the town centre, the bull and centaur roundabout sculptures and an art exhibition in the vacant former Subway shop in High Street.
The RHS officials were welcomed back to the town hall by town crier Ken Knowles and the ST14 Dancers, who performed a "mash-up" dance routine.
At the historic civic hall, Dave Trenery, town councillor and chairman of the Uttoxeter in Bloom committee, said he thought the judges had been impressed.
He said: "They were very pleased with the amount of community activity and support. So much collaboration has been going on in the town.
"They're travelling all around Britain this week, looking at every town in the running, so we're competing against the best of the best and it's the first time we've been in a position to do that.
"We recognise this is our first time in the finals and will be looking to learn from it to make next year's entry even better."
Councillor Trenery's wife, town mayor Alison, paid tribute to all those who had contributed to Uttoxeter's bid.
She said: "I'd like to thank East Staffordshire Borough Council and its contractors for the tremendous support they've show Uttoxeter in Bloom.
"Those behind community initiatives like the Go Garden scheme, the library garden, Friends of Bramshall Road Park and Uttoxeter Station Adopters should also be very pleased with their efforts.
"Private contributors like SJL Landscaping, Bradley House and Strawberry Garden Centre have had a big role to play, as have all the businesses who took part in our best-dressed window competition in the build-up to today.
"All the schools, especially Alleyne's, with its farm and garden, have been a real key part of this project.
"And our town clerk, Tina Jeffery, and the town hall staff have done a quite amazing job.
"So many groups and individuals have worked together that it's impossible to thank everyone individually."
The Uttoxeter in Bloom committee will find out if it has won the competition during an awards ceremony in October.
Other towns it will be up against include Barnoldswick, in Lancashire; Forres, on the north coast of Scotland; Halstead, in Essex; Otley, in Yorkshire; Pembrey and Burry Port, in Carmarthenshire, Wales; Sherbourne, in Dorset; and St Saviour, in Jersey.
