Nottingham will be looking its blooming best this Friday as the city aims to be named the greenest and cleanest community in the East Midlands.

Judges of the new regional ‘Champion of Champions’ competition will be looking for the pick of the bunch amongst Nottingham, Oakham and Market Bosworth – all participating by invitation only in recognition of their excellent results in Bloom competitions over many years.

Nottingham has a population of over 200,000 compared with Oakham’s 10,000 and Market Bosworth’s 2,000.

The Chair of the Nottingham in Bloom Working Group, Councillor Malcolm Wood, says: “Nottingham traditionally does well in the Bloom competitions and we hope we will come away with a Gold Medal again this year. In the past we have always faced competition from similar sized communities to our own, but this time our competitors are of a very different size and nature and so the outcome is unpredictable.

We have some excellent examples of innovative floral displays in our parks and on the traffic islands, as well as strong support from many community groups who are busy spreading the Bloom campaign to their own areas of the city. The judges will be meeting many of them and finding out how they are improving their own neighbourhoods with flowers.”

Judges Jeff Bates and Doug Stacey will start their four and a half hour tour at the Camellia House at Wollaton Park. They will then visit the new Harrow Road Community Garden; Lambourne Drive’s old canal basin, which has recently been transformed with the help of BBC Breathing Spaces; the University of Nottingham’s showpiece campus; NG2 business park; Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens; Collygate Road to see floral displays by local residents; Lace Market Square; the Castle grounds; the Old Market Square; the Arboretum; Valley Road water meadow, and Woodthorpe Park, finishing with a visit to the City Council Nursery.

Photo opportunities as follows:

10am Wollaton Park – Judges will talk to Wollaton Brownies near the grass stag they have created and will meet the gardeners who are responsible for this year’s displays.

11.25am Toll Bridge traffic island, The Meadows (near Wickes - Riverside Way).  Children from Riverside Primary School will show the judges the circular planter they have planted up and are tending.

12.30pm - Nottingham Castle.  Judges will look round the beautiful grounds and will meet a variety of people involved with creating this year’s displays, including:

- Sherwood Press staff with Robin Hood

- NADFAS members with Maid Marian

- Wollaton WI members with Sir Bloom-a-lot and his horse Crusader

- Art Outlook members with their carpet bed,

- A pupil from Walter Halls School with her rocking horse carpet bed representing the HOPIN project (History of Play in Nottingham).

 2pm - Woodthorpe Park.  Judges will visit the new Parterre garden and meet volunteers from Browne Jacobson who helped to plant it; also volunteers from Framework working in the borders; the grass lion, and Nursery staff.