AS spring draws to a close, the latest exhibition at the Beach Hut Gallery celebrates wildlife in bloom.

The Darling Buds of May opens at the gallery at Kents Bank Station, near Grange, on Thursday May 17, featuring the work of a range of talented local artists.

Those featured are: Kate Bentley, a multi-award winning painter, and member of the Society of Women Artists and Lakes Artists Society; Elizabeth Walsh, also a member of Lakes Artists Society, who trained at the Royal College of Art and paints beautiful watercolours of small wildlife and flowers; Christine Baines, another member of Lakes Artists Society and Ambleside and District Art Society; Sally Toms - the final Lake Artists Society member in the exhibition - who works in clay and produces a broad range of both figurative sculpture and decorative ceramics; Tina Balmer, who celebrates visions of the everyday in her paintings; and Rebecca Darbishire, known for her delicate and intricate oil paintings of wildflowers and blossom.

The exhibition space at Kents Bank station is run by a co-operative consortium and hosts showcases of its members' work throughout the year, offering a fresh and unique experience of contemporary art in Cumbria.

The Darling Buds of May runs from Thursday May 17 to Sunday July 22, and will be free to view during the gallery's regular opening hours, from Thursday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm.