THESE are some of the glittering trophies which will be handed out tomorrow night to Oxford’s most talented gardeners.

Entries for the competition closed in July and judges then toured the city to pick out the winners.

Judges included flower arranger Lois Allen, who was joined on a three-day tour of the city by John Alcock, Trish Stevens and Harry Robinson.

Sixty gardeners submitted more than 200 entries across the competition categories, with the majority coming from the Cowley and Headington areas.

Betty Fletcher, 69, of Stockleys Road, Northway, is looking forward to attending the ceremony after she missed last year’s big night when she was taken to hospital with stomach pains.

She said: “I was sorry to miss it last year because I love seeing all the people pick up their prizes.

“I won a trophy last year even though I couldn’t go on the night and the organisers brought it round for me afterwards. This year I’m hoping to do well in the Best Kept Small Back Garden category. My marigolds and petunias looked good this year.”

The competition is now in its 22nd year and the awards ceremony at Roman Way Sports and Social Club, off Horspath Road, Cowley, is a night that organisers, judges and contestants all look forward to.

Oxford in Bloom chairman Karen Roberts said: “As well as the trophies there are certificates of merit, and people are also given garden gift vouchers as prizes, which we hope will encourage them to enter the competition next year.

“It’s been a tough time financially, so the number of entries this year was slightly down on last year.

“We are very grateful for the support of the people who have entered Oxford in Bloom because their efforts have helped to make Oxford look really beautiful.

“People really look forward to the awards ceremony and we usually get about 300 people coming along. The award for the best school is announced first so that the schoolchildren can go home to bed because the ceremony can go on until quite late.

“The winners can keep the main trophies for a year before they hand them back, but they can keep their certificates for good.

“Lots of people have them displayed on the wall at home.”

Michelle Legg, the city council’s parks development officer, has been in charge of getting the trophies to the ceremony, engraved with the winners’ names. She said: “There are more than 20 trophies and we keep the names of the winners a secret – people turn up on the night with no idea if they have won or not.”

The competition is run by the council’s parks department and is backed by the Oxford Mail.

Chris Perks, 58, of Palmer Road, Wood Farm, has won the Best Kept Small Front Garden category for the past two years, and is hoping to make it a hat-trick.