Wales's prize gardeners have gathered in Carmarthenshire for an award ceremony to recognise their work.

The 2002 Wales in Bloom national awards ceremony were hosted on Friday by the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

Twenty one winners were invited to the ceremony in the gardens

When it opened in May 2000, the National Botanic garden was Britain's first botanic garden to be created in 200 years.

Created with the backing of �43m Millennium Lottery funding, the garden has grown and matured providing a beautiful setting for visitors to discover many new sensory pleasures.

The 21 winners in different categories from around Wales were invited to tour the �43m site both before and after the awards ceremony.

"The National Botanic Garden of Wales provides a superb setting to recognise the achievements of so many green-fingered gardeners from communities throughout Wales," said Clive Addison, chairman of Wales in Bloom.

"I'm sure the visit will inspire them to greater heights of horticultural excellence in their own individual communities."

Alan Hayward, chairman of the botanic garden's trustees, said they were delighted to welcome so many award winning gardeners.

"We hope they will be inspired by their visit and look forward to welcoming them back to view the future development of the garden."

Award winners travelled to Carmarthenshire from across Wales.

Here are some of the winners in the 21 categories:

Newport, south east Wales was the winner for the City trophy, with Swansea runner-up.

Colwyn Bay won the Wales in Bloom title for large towns.

Beddgelert in Gwynedd was triumphant in the Village category, while Wolfscastle near Haverfordwest was a joint runner-up.

Ysgol Langelynnin at Henryd in Conwy was the winner in the school category and Queen Elizabeth Cambria in Carmarthen was the winner among comprehensive schools.

In the hospital section, Swansea's Morriston Hospital came top, while Dolau near Knighton in Powys triumphed in the railway station category.