Keeping Nairnshire Colourful (KNC) is delighted to welcome a new sponsor at Balmakeith, AMEY. Since AMEY took over responsibility for the landscaping along the A96 from BEAR, KNC has developed a close working relationship with their team.

When it became clear last year that Sainsburys were struggling to maintain the bed they had agreed to sponsor when the store was built, KNC Chair, Annie Stewart, began to look for a new sponsor, and when Tracy Smith, Principal Landscape Architect for AMEY, asked about sponsoring a bed in Nairn, Annie immediately offered the Sainsbury’s bed.

Over last winter and early this year KNC volunteers removed most of the plants that could be kept, cleared the bed of all the couch grass and weeds that had taken over and dug in a good layer of soil improver and feed. KNC also decided to reduce the length of the bed using turf supplied by Dunbar Golf Club.

KNC volunteers clearing the bed

This spring the bed was planted up using the existing plants, and new perennials were added. During the hot, dry weather KNC volunteers were out watering, and a thick mulch of bark was added to the bed. A KNC volunteer will ensure the bed is kept tidy. “We are very grateful for the support from AMEY,” Annie said “and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them.”

KNC volunteers and the AMEY team