The winners of the annual Nottingham in Bloom gardening competition were announced in a ceremony held at Nottingham castle at the weekend.

Winners in the competition were announced in 13 categories, including Best School Garden, Best Community Project, Space for Nature and Blooming Beautiful Neighbourhood.

Joe Butler of Parkside Gardens, Wollaton, won a gold medal award in the Best Front Garden category.

The garden was found to have lots of colour from bedding and baskets as well as beautifully-kept lawns and good structural planting, the Nottigham Evening Post reports.

Ivana Djuric, who is studying for a PhD in the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies at the University of Nottingham, was awarded for her efforts in the Best Student Accomodation category.

Ms Djuric, originally from Croatia, said: "I love it here in Nottingham, it's really beautiful. I find it more appealing than other cities in the UK.

"I haven't really seen any other city that has as many flowers and cares for the environment."

She added: "The weather here is very good for the garden. You have the water pouring down constantly."

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