THERE’S still time — if you hurry — to enter this year’s Oxford in Bloom competition.

That’s the message to all residents and businesses within the city boundary, with the official closing date for entries tomorrow.

So far, there have been about 250 entries across all categories but the organisers of the competition, which is backed by the Oxford Mail, said today that they would take last-minute entries to boost the total number of gardeners taking part.

Betty Fletcher, 68, of Stockleys Road, on the Northway estate, has entered again after winning two cups last year.

She said: “I would urge people to be adventurous – they should take a chance and enter.

“You don’t have to be a professional, or a landscape gardener – I just plant flowers and hope that they grow.

“My fuschias could do with a bit more watering, but my flowers have had quite a lot of rain so they are looking healthy.

“I don’t have a particular technique — I’m an amateur not a professional and I just plant the flowers and wait for them to grow. If I can do it, then other people certainly can and I would urge them to take part.”

Oxford in Bloom chairman Karen Roberts said: “The official deadline is tomorrow, but I’m hoping lots of people decide to enter at the last minute.

“If they send in their forms and they reach us by Monday, then those entries will still be accepted.

“We want as many people as possible to enter, so I think it’s a good idea to extend the deadline in this way by a couple of days.

“Monday morning has to be the final deadline for entries, because that’s when the judges start to draw up their routes around the city to inspect all the different gardens.”

This year, Oxford City Council decided it would not take part in the Britain in Bloom contest to save money.

But it was agreed that Oxford in Bloom should be staged, and the contest is now in its 21st year.

Ms Roberts added: “Perhaps some people made the mistake that because one competition wasn’t running, then the other one wasn’t either.

“There’s always a flood of entries right at the last minute and it would be great if we could get a total of 350.”

Judging starts in the week beginning July 20 with winners announced at a presentation evening on September 17.

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk For more details, see our website oxfordmail.co.

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