KEEN gardeners are to be encouraged to join the Windermere in Bloom group.

Coun Richard Ogden, chairman of Windermere Parish Council, said it was hoped to enlarge the group by bringing in "genuine horticulturalists" and gardening enthusiasts who were not members of the council.

He also encouraged more councillors to think about taking part, saying: "We were pretty thin on the ground this year.

It was only with the help of people who had ostensibly retired that we were able to keep things on an even keel."

The Windermere in Bloom group is to meet again soon.