Cambridge: Photography exhibition will showcase garden's beauty

Autumn Colours by Diana Harrison has won the inaugural Spirit and Beauty of the Botanic Garden competition

Photographs showcasing seasonal colours and textures are to be exhibited in the research garden where some were taken.

The inaugural Spirit and Beauty of Cambridge University Botanic Garden competition attracted more than 400 entries from amateur snappers.

Botanic Garden director, Beverley Glover, said they showed the "drama and diversity" of the 40-acre gardens.

Winners will be displayed alongside images from the International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY).

Mycena Swirl, taken in Cheshire by photographer Tony North, won the IGPOTY World of Fungi category

Crisp Mornings by Jose Teles showcases the garden's glasshouses on a cold, bright February morning

The Botanic Garden (CUBG), which has a collection of more than 8,000 plant species on the edge of Cambridge city centre, is one of a number of venues across the UK and mainland Europe that exhibits winning photographs from the global competition every year.

A total of 68 photographs will be displayed outdoors in the garden's grass maze area.

For the first time, the garden has formed a partnership with the IGPOTY to create a new competition - especially for visitors to the Cambridge attraction.

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Prof Glover said staff were thrilled with the standard of the Spirit and Beauty entries.

"As a plant scientist, I'm inspired and intrigued by plants and opening up this competition to our visitors has provided a wonderful opportunity to see the garden through their eyes - or lenses," she said.

Bended Boughs by Allan Hale came third in the inaugural Botanic Garden photography competition

Luigi Ruoppolo's The Wooden Army was taken in Italy and won the IGPOTY Trees, Woods and Forests category

Photographer Jose Teles, who won second place in the Spirit and Beauty competition, said: "On an early morning in February, I visited the garden as soon as the gates opened.

"The way the light reflected from the glasshouses and framed the vegetation gave the scene a magical and peaceful aura."

Allan Hale, who was placed third, said that in his Bended Boughs photograph, "the boughs of this old tree made a frame within a frame and the verdant vegetation had a gentle glow".

Dennis Frates won the IGPOTY Wildflower Landscapes category with this colourful image taken in California

Prof Glover added: "It's lovely to see that specific plants in our collection have been captured, as well as landscapes.

"Together, they successfully showcase the peace, tranquillity, drama, diversity and colour the garden provides."

The free outdoor exhibition runs from 15 March to 6 May.