SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock In Bloom is getting ready to be judged again.

Judges will be coming to the area June 21 to 23, which is exciting, said Regina Greenwald, Slippery Rock In Bloom co-chairman.

Slippery Rock In Bloom, part of America In Bloom, started in 2010 as the Slippery Rock Rotary Club’s president’s project. America In Bloom is a national community improvement initiative.

For the past few years, the group has worked to plant flowers and make other improvements, with judges coming in the early summers to visit and rate the effort.

America In Bloom judges visited the borough in June.

In October, Slippery Rock In Bloom improved its rating and received an award for “most welcoming town entrance” at the America In Bloom National Symposium and Awards in Philadelphia. It also received special recognition for community involvement.

The committee has been getting ready for several months.

On Oct. 26, about 60 volunteers planted 10,000 tulip bulbs around the borough, primarily in Memorial, Gateway and Roxy parks as well as along Main and Franklin streets. This was the most flowers planted for the project yet.

The plants are starting to come up out of the ground.

“They’re getting there slowly,” Greenwald said.

She said she is hoping that local residents come out to see how nice the flowers look this year.

Unlike past years, the committee will not hold a fundraising gala this year. Instead, it will host a chili cook-off fundraiser on May 2 at Gateway Park.

“We’re doing things to get people in town ... to see what everything looks like,” Greenwald said.

The committee is working on a “transition program,” where master gardeners from Penn State and people from the Macoskey Center at Slippery Rock University work with high school transition students to teach them how to plant and garden.

“America In Bloom is all about getting kids involved in gardening and planting,” Greenwald said.

For more information or to volunteer, visit www.srinbloom.com, the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Slippery-Rock-in-Bloom or send an e-mail to srinbloom16057@gmail.com.