The Pembina Valley was well represented in the 2017 Manitoba Communities in Bloom competition. The Town of Morris and City of Morden each snagged 4 out of 5 Blooms at the annual conference and awards event this past weekend at the International Peace Garden.

Participating communities are evaluated on tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscaping and floral displays.

While the Town of Morris has participated in the competition for several years now, the latest conference and awards event was a first for Mayor Gavin van der Linde.

"There's people with common vision looking at improving their communities. I really enjoy the program is run, the way the judges look at the communities and give recommendations for how (they) can improve."

He added that the people of Morris want to continue improving their town, therefore it will continue to participate in the competition.

In fact, Morris is hosting the 2018 Manitoba Communities in Bloom Conference and Awards.

"As part of our commitment and just paying back to the Communities in Bloom committee, making sure that we do a great job of hosing next year," said van der Linde.

Meantime, the Town of Carberry was awarded the 2017 3R Initiative and Compost Award and the Floral Display Award.

The R.M. of East St. Paul was awarded the Canada 150 Special Edition Award.

City of Morden reps were on hand at the International Peace Garden this past weekend to accept a 4 out of 5 Bloom ranking