THE green-fingered and amateur gardeners alike are welcome to enter the borough’s gardening competition Islington in Bloom as it opens for another year.

To encourage entrants to keep up their gardening efforts, all entries will receive a voucher for a free bag of compost from Camden Garden Centre.

Categories for this year’s competition include Best Front Garden, Best Children’s Garden and Best Window Box, so people of all ages, including those who do not have gardens, can get involved.

First, second and third place entries in each category will receive a National Garden Gift voucher.

Andrew Bedford, Islington Council’s head of greenspace and leisure services, said: “We encourage all local people, even those that have never picked up a trowel before, to have some fun brightening up their homes, gardens and shared spaces.”

This year, judges will focus more on how the entries positively impact biodiversity in Islington.

To enter, email inbloom@Islington.gov.uk with two images of your entry and your name, address and phone number. The deadline for entries is July 4 and results will be announced in September.