THEY’VE brought a wonderful splash of colour to the town.
And they are full-colour proof that spring is just around the corner.
Spectacular displays of spring bulbs have burst into life on grass verges and central reservations all over Huddersfield and the rest of Kirklees.
It is down to a three-year programme drawn up by Kirklees Council to plant more than 2m bulbs in the district.
And even though funding cuts mean large-scale planting can no longer take place, there is scope for more bulbs to be planted if residents can identify community sites that would benefit.
Duncan Henderson, an operations manager with the council’s Streetscene department, said: “We are delighted with the way the bulbs have come up over the past few days.
“It is great to get so many compliments from people over how good the displays are looking.
“It is certainly something that has brought a great splash of colour to the town after weeks and weeks of grey, miserable weather.”
The displays were planned for many roadside verges and central reservations some years ago and planted over the last three years.
The council hired a specialist bulb-planting machine, which does everything in one go – splicing open the soil, depositing hundreds of bulbs and sealing up the planted ground.
The bulbs were bought by the lorryload from specialist growers in Holland.
Mr Henderson said: “Obviously in view of the budget cuts the council has had to implement, we cannot look at any more large-scale planting.
“But there is some funding available and we would be more than happy to look at ideas from the public about which areas could benefit from the bulb planting.”
Examiner gardening expert Graham Porter welcomed the blooming bulbs.
“The crocus are here at just about the right time.
“The bitterly cold ground temperatures we had in December and January slowed them up, but we had some warmer days in February which allowed them to come through.”
