Britain in Bloom awards glory for Uddingston and Bothwell

Meanwhile Bothwell won two discretionary silver gilt awards - for work involving children and young people, and for community gardening in a changing climate.

The community was presented with the Involving Children and Young People award for engaging local schools and youth groups in learning about nature, growing and the environment.

They were also presented with the Gardening in a Changing Climate award - introduced this year following the launch of the Royal Horticultural Society report by the same name - for their sustainable gardening practices at Bothwell Community Garden.

For Uddingston the result was a confirmation of the enviable reputation the town has won in previous competitions - both with Britain in Bloom and Beautiful Scotland.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Llandudno, North Wales.

Eight groups were chosen to fly the flag for Scotland following success in the Keep Scotland Beautiful competition last year.

Scotland won more discretionary awards than any other part of the UK.

RHS judges visited the 78 UK finalists over the summer to assess each group against three key criteria - community participation, environmental responsibility and horticultural achievement.

Depending on the standard reached, a Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver or Bronze medal is awarded, with a winner in each category and discretionary awards for achieving excellence in particular fields.

Between them, this year’s Britain in Bloom finalists planted over a million trees, bulbs and other plants, transforming villages, towns and cities.

Roger Burnett, chairman of the RHS Britain in Bloom judges, said: “It’s a huge honour to witness how Britain in Bloom brings people together and the lengths that groups go to to make their communities clean, green and beautiful.

“We saw an incredible diversity of different planting schemes, including wildflower meadows for wildlife, community food growing and plants chosen to cope with our changing climate.

“This year, the standard was as high as ever but what really stood out was the creativity and ingenuity that groups showed in tackling the specific challenges of their particular areas, whether that be lack of funding, local social issues or tricky site conditions.”