A man who kickstarted a celebration of Norwich's most vibrant floral displays is to leave the job through which it all began after 43 years.
Terry Bane, 62, from Tuckswood Estate in Norwich, said he will miss his colleagues at Norwich City Council after stepping down earlier this week.
At the council, where he largely worked in the grounds maintenances contract team, Mr Bane is credited with kickstarting Norwich In Bloom, an annual event which celebrates the city's flower beds.
In 1986 he became a member of the first Norwich in Bloom Association committee and continued to shape the event for 30 years, before reducing his role in 2016.
But he has now stepped back from the city council too, after clocking up an impressive 43 years and six months.
Mr Bane said: "I would like to thank the many Norwich and UK businesses which advertised and supported Norwich in Bloom through the advertising on roundabouts, traffic islands and barrier basket displays which in turn enabled resources for production of around 30,000 plants a year at City College Norwich (CCN) and in the past at Norwich Prison Services.
"I am particularly going to miss working with John Attoe, Sarah Softley and Pam Frost, growing partners who with CCN students and volunteers grow sustainable and biodiverse perennials and annuals from seed and plug plants for community planting projects in Norwich."
While Mr Bane said he wants to enjoy some rest for the first few months of his retirement, he also has plans to give talks about his career, Norwich in Bloom and his one-acre garden.
In the future, he also hopes to learn about garden design, how to draw plans and paint them in watercolours.
Mr Bane's professional horticultural career started in September 1974 as a full time student at The Norfolk College of Horticulture in Burlingham - an hour's walk away from his childhood home in Lingwood.
He later completed his studies at The Royal Gardens Windsor. On his return to Norfolk, Mr Bane applied for a job at Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norwich City Council and accepted a position as a top grade gardener at the latter.
He later worked as part of the Earlham Park nursery team from 1977 and 1990, where he met his future wife Mirelle Yallop.
From then Mr Bane worked in the Green Spaces division, where, among other projects, he helped develop sponsorship and advertising opportunities for Norwich In Bloom.
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