AS you walk through the pretty towns and villages of Otley, Ilkley, Guiseley, Addingham and Hawksworth, it is easy to take for granted the flower beds, gardens and hanging baskets that adorn the shops and public places.

And even easier to forget the people who create and maintain them.

Across the area, small teams of green-fingered residents are working hard for the benefit of their communities. Dedicated groups work year-round to keep our towns the most attractive in the district.

As the spring round of judging for Yorkshire in Bloom is completed, the same teams will take the briefest of breaks before preparing for the summer round of judging.

But for the individuals whose efforts come under scrutiny - the competition isn't everything.

Graham Breeze is a member of the Hawksworth village committee who organise the planting and maintenance of their public gardens.

Despite the village having won each year for the five it has entered, Graham stresses that to the community the competition is incidental.

He said: "We do it because we live here. If there was no competition we would still do what we do. It is delightful to win awards and be told we are the best but that is not the point of it. We do it to make the village more attractive to those who live in it and those who visit."

Hawksworth has four members on their committee, around a dozen helpers and 70 households in the village who contribute to its award-winning appearance.

Mr Breeze said: "It would only take one garden to be antagonistic to the rest of the village to prevent us winning an award, so it is obviously a community effort.

"The work goes on all year round - clearly it has to with gardens. We recognise what is natural for our village. We don't spend thousands on bedding plants. We are quite exposed here and it's important that we don't turn ourselves into something we're not. So expense is not so much an issue with our planting. It is time rather than money. Really the Village in Bloom competition is only one aspect of community life."

Chairman of Guiseley in Bloom, Shirley Hughes-Rowlands, has been stopped in the street and congratulated on the effort she and her team have made to improve the appearance of the town.

She too is clear that the competition is not the primary reason for the work they do.

She said: "We are helping ourselves really. Guiseley in Bloom is for everyone. The whole community get involved - the schools, the Baptist Church, the British Legion and the Women's Institute."

Over the three years that Guiseley has taken part in Yorkshire in Bloom, the committee and its helpers have transformed the Gyratory in the town by creating three large flower beds and placing a marker stone there. They are now concentrating on the Memorial Garden on Towngate.

Shirley said: "Leeds City Council Parks Department do a lot for us but they can't do it all. They have limited funds. We are helping ourselves and helping the whole community with what we do."

Don Barrett is vice-chairman of Addingham Garden Friends Group. He thinks the all-weather manual work is worthwhile.

"Taking part in Yorkshire in Bloom definitely benefits the village a lot. People take much more interest in their local environment."

The Addingham group has 17 members. Don said: "Of course we always like to have more but we have got a good group at the moment working to make the village prettier throughout the year."

And the work is paying off. Last year, the village of Addingham came fourth overall in their category.

The work rarely stops. Since the Garden Friends group was set up a year ago to replace the original Parish Council workforce, the team are aiming to revitalise their approach to the Yorkshire in Bloom competition and are aiming for bigger and better things this year.

Don explained: "We plan to move away by degrees from seasonal bedding towards more permanent planting."

The group is funded by Bradford City Council, Addingham Parish Council and the Addingham Garden Friends Group.

Don said: "We have a lot of help from Mel Smith at Bradford Council who offers practical help and advice as well as funding.

"We work with Bradford Parks department and they have decided to consult with us in future on ideas for schemes of planting in the village. We would like to co-ordinate the colour scheme more throughout the village."

Evidence of the community spirit that motivates the villagers lies in the story of the 'lay-by' - an area of land in Addingham that was sold to the Parish Council by the former owner for £1 on the condition it was made into a garden.

In Ilkley, the responsibility for 30 sites lies with only sixteen people. Tony Gilroy is chairman of Ilkley in Bloom. He and fifteen helpers do the work for the town.

Tony said: "Really we do it for Ilkley all year round and the competition is a focus twice a year on what we do.

"We do it because we like the town to look good. I have a strong sense of community spirit and wanted to give something back to Ilkley. Though Bradford Council are very good they have not all the resources we need so voluntary help is necessary. The council do a wonderful job so we just do the forgotten areas.

"The important thing about the competition is that twice a year Ilkley gets a good spring clean. We enter the competition to do well but it also brings publicity to what we do and gets everyone thinking about how attractive the town looks.

Tony added: "The main thing is that it is good fun. We enjoy it - that's the key. Otherwise we wouldn't do it. Most people are very appreciative of what we do and that is very rewarding. It's why we keep going."