COLLEGE staff and students are hard at work creating an entry for the Harrogate Spring Flower Show.

Askham Bryan College, near York, won gold awards in the garden design section of the last two shows and horticulture students hope to repeat the feat this year.

The show starts on Thursday and runs until May 1 at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The college's entry is called The Gardener's Palette and aims to show that developing a garden is just as creative a process as painting or sculpting. Among the plants are a garden seat, designed as a paint box, giant crayons, brushes and tubes of paint.

Stewart Ward, horticulture unit manager and leader of the team putting together the entry, said: "The show is a marvellous opportunity for us to work on a real design project. It gives the whole department a buzz. We've been very successful in the past with two gold medals, so we're all hoping to come away from the show with one of the top awards."