COMPETITION was fierce but friendly for the city flower festival as green-fingered growers battled it out for the plaudits of their peers.

The Worcester City Flower Festival is growing steadily with each summer and the crowds gathered in force at the city’s Gheluvelt Park on Saturday to see whose buds were the best this year.

The weather cooperated for the event and as the judges got to work on the hundreds of entries in the main marquee, people browsed the variety of stalls accompanied by the sounds of the Perdido Street Jazz Band.

Linda Ohlson, festival organiser, said the event was a good way of “bringing the city together”, adding it was not all about flowers and vegetables, as there are also categories for cakes, photography and the classical arts, such as painting.

“I feel humbled to see the beautiful creations that people can come up with,” she said.

However, there was serious – but “friendly” – competition among the entrants, particularly in the main floral and vegetable growing categories.

Grower Dan Robb had to concede defeat in the runner bean category to fellow Perdiswell allotment tenant Brian Sampson, admitting with a wry grin that he had mistakenly cut his own potentially prize-winning entry in half when trying to pluck out a leek on his plot.

However, he did walk away with first in the garlic and orchid categories.

But although the rivalry was only ever friendly, the judges made sure the “standard” was upheld, scrutinising every entry in detail from the humble miniature tomato to the more majestic begonia.

Bill Simpson, one of the judges, said: “For example, with the orchids and the begonias we were looking for nice clean foliage, good shape and buds all coming out at the same time.

“A flower may look good, but that does not necessarily mean it will win.”

Petula Halfpenny, floral art judge, said she was “delighted and impressed” with the standard of this year’s category entries but “would like to see a few more entries next year”.

“I think people are frightened to enter, but they should give it a go.”