A SALE grandfather left disappointed by Trafford Council’s budget decision to make cuts on flower planting, has put Manchester City Council’s flowers in Ashton Village.

Ken Wilkes and his eight-year-old granddaughter Poppy Brocklehurst worked together to bring colour to the green on Buck Lane with lobelias and marigolds after realising that Trafford Council would not be planting flowers this year.

Replacing bedding plants with spring flowering bulbs was one of the ideas suggested to Trafford Council during the Spending Challenge last year, when the council asked for residents to help them think of ways to save money.

Ken, a retired teacher, said everyone was disappointed that flowers hadn’t been planted in Ashton village so he decided to do something about it.

Ironically, Ken, from Buck Lane, was provided with free plants for the green by Manchester City Council gardening staff as they dismantled their Tatton Show garden in July.

He and Poppy, a pupil at Wellfield Junior School, spent a day planting the flowers and returned on September 2 with marigolds taken from Poppy’s mum’s allotment.

“Everyone thinks it’s brilliant I keep saying we are guerrilla gardeners,” he said.

Trafford Council confirmed that the green was one of a number of sites where the usual bedding plants would be replaced with colourful perennials and spring flowering bulbs as a cost-saving measure.

Executive Councillor John Reilly said: “This planting work is not due to take place until October, so it is great that residents have stepped in to give the site a boost in the meantime.

“This is yet another example of residents taking pride in their community and getting on board our pledge to make Trafford a greener borough.”