A CITY-WIDE floral contest should prove a blooming big draw for green-fingered people living in Worcester.

If doesn't matter if you have a postage stamp-sized plot or a couple of acres, anyone who has made their garden look lovely can enter Worcester in Bloom, the city's annual festival of shrubs, flowers and bushes.

Worcester City Council has been promoting Worcester in Bloom since 1985 and the standard of entries has been rising year-on-year.

"We have seen an improvement in the quality of entries every year, but especially over the last three or four years when the standard has really shot up," said Chris Waterfall, council parks officer.

Experienced

He was keen to emphasise, however, that less experienced gardeners should not be put off.

"We want to encourage as many people as possible to enter and there are plenty of categories to ensure that gardeners are only competing against similar gardeners."

The Worcester in Bloom competition is designed to promote gardening as widely as possible in the city and to encourage people to make the Faithful City bright and colourful during the summer.

The closing date for entries is Friday, July 27, and judging will start in early August.

Mr Waterfall and the Mayor of Worcester, Councillor David Clark, will carry out the judging.

The prize-giving ceremony will take place in early September and has traditionally taken place at the Guildhall.