Gardeners are already turning turf and planting seeds ahead of this year's Castle Point in Bloom competition.

For some it means painstaking and methodical preparation, while others will simply let their imagination run wild.

Gerald Snook, the borough's horticultural officer, is hoping for a bumper crop of entries.

He said: "Everything starts now and the application forms are being released. People are already going to be putting seeds in from January to April while others will be waiting to get their plants straight from garden centres.

"We always get a large number of varied entries in each category. The standard is always very good."

The closing date is June 30 with judging in July and August. Entry is free but all taking part must live within the borough.

Among last year's winners was Hadleigh police station, which earned a special mayor's award for its creativity.

Old boots and even a policeman's helmet were pressed into action to turn the station into a riot of colour.

PC Jacque Barber said: "We are taking part again this year although we haven't thought about it in any great detail.

"We will have to wait and see although we are hoping to try and top last year's effort."

Call 01268 882200 for details. Castle Point in Bloom: Factfile

The eleven categories of entry are:

Large residential garden

Small residential garden

Cottage garden

Hard landscape

Public house

Restaurant

Allotment

Sheltered housing

School

Shop

V Front porch

The main factors looked for by the judges are:

Selection and combination of plants used in your garden or hanging baskets or window boxes

Effective use of flower colour, shape and layout

Quality of cultivation and maintenance

Lovely bunches - last year's winning team from Hadleigh police station

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.