Blooming fantastic sights across Bedford, Kempston and Queens Park will be celebrated, with judges coming for the the In Bloom competition.

All three parts of the borough are taking part in the national competition, which is one of the largest horticultural campaigns in Europe

Judges are looking for local communities coming together and managing their environment.

And green-fingered locals will be hoping for a second consecutive success, after Bedford In Bloom last year won a gold award in the 2009 Anglia In Bloom competition and was named winner of the small city category, before coming second in the Britain In Bloom final.

Mayor of Bedford Dave Hodgson said: "Bedford Borough can be tremendously proud of its success across the In Bloom competitions in recent years. The last two years have been brilliant successes and I am hopeful we will have more reasons to celebrate this summer too.

"In Bloom is not just about planting flowers, it can help to bring communities together and encourages everyone to work together to make the borough an even better place to live, work and visit."