Bury in Bloom 2007 burst into life at the official launch in Bury St Edmunds with special guest speaker Kim Wilde.
Gardeners gathered in the Athenaeum to support the bid for a Britain in Bloom title as the floral competition celebrated its 21st year on Tuesday.
Kim Wilde, the former pop star and award-winning gardener, dropped in to back the campaign, which has the theme Blooming Wild. She said: “Bury looks great and I know people are very excited about taking part in the competition. There is a great vibe here and it is a beautiful night to launch the campaign.”
Working on the theme of natural planting, green-fingered gardeners across the town will start digging for victory ahead of the judging in July.
Mike Ames, chairman of the campaign, said: “In the 21 years we have been doing the competition, the stakes just get higher. To have Kim Wilde as an ambassador for the Royal Horticultural Society shows how highly regarded Bury is as a floral town and I hope we pull it off again this year.”