Flowers clearly proved too high for many Brighton and Hove businesses which decided not to pay out for hanging baskets for this year's Britain In Bloom contest.

Few shops in Western Road, one of the city's main shopping precincts, had bothered to make an effort. And parts of Hove fared little better.

To rent one of the council's hanging baskets for the summer costs £24.

A round pot costs £40 and a Victorian wall bracket £30. If the council waters the plants, a further £50 has to found.

However, the central parts of Brighton have seemed less inclined to enter into the spirit of the In Bloom campaign than the fringes.

Martin Lawrence, of the Hove Business Association, said while the group's members supported the campaign, some were put off by the costs.

He said: "I think for most of our members the costs became a bit high when you added everything together, so there was not a great deal of participation."

However in Kemp Town there was much more evidence of community involvement.

James Charter, of the Kemp Town Village Business Association, said: "When you wander around the Churchill Square area there is nothing that makes you go 'wow'.

"I think little places on the fringes try harder because there is that sense of community. We talk to our customers and everyone keeps and eye out for one another. So when something like In Bloom comes along, there is more involvement."

Friday July 11, 2003