Creative children and young people are invited to get out into the garden to seek inspiration for Nottingham in Bloom’s annual art and photography competitions.

The theme of the 2015 art competition is ‘All Seasons In Bloom’ to encourage young artists to explore the garden, park or countryside all year round. The photography competition theme is ‘Nature And Encouraging Wildlife In The Garden’.

Both competitions are again sponsored by Capital One, whose staff will help to shortlist the entries. The competitions regularly attract over 1,000 entries from young people who live, go to school or are members of community groups in Nottingham.

Stuart Mather, Community Relations Manager for Capital One, said: “We are proud to support the competitions and hope they will encourage children to take inspiration from plants, flowers, fruits and wildlife all through the year. It’s a great way for young people to showcase their creative talents. Over the years we have had some really fantastic entries that have gone on to be used for posters, Christmas cards and publications. The winners in 2012 even had the opportunity to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to the city.”

Shortlisted pictures and photos will be displayed at the open day at the Nottingham City Council Nursery at Woodthorpe Grange Park on Saturday May 9th when the public can vote for their favourites. Winners will receive gift vouchers to be presented at an awards ceremony at the nursery in July, and the winning pictures will go on to represent the city in the East Midlands in Bloom competitions. Photographer Tracey Whitefoot is also offering a photography workshop for one of the winners and their classmates.

Councillor Malcolm Wood, Chair of the Nottingham in Bloom Working Group, said: “Thank you to Capital One for their ongoing support, which enables these popular and worthwhile competitions to continue and grow.

“I am delighted to see that many schools in the city have inspirational gardens that have provided the children with a wealth of opportunities to produce excellent paintings and photographs. In recent years we have been particularly pleased to receive so many photos featuring wildlife, which have required patience as well as skill on the part of the photographers.”

For an entry form, visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/nottinghaminbloom or call Nottingham in Bloom on 0115 915 2733. The closing date is Friday April 17th.