A ROSE garden with a literary theme is being planned for Dorchester’s Borough Gardens.

It will feature plants named after writers, or with a literary connection.

Dorchester Town Council is expected to invite local people to suggest a name for the area – with some councillors favouring a Thomas Hardy connection.

The council’s management committee heard this week that the cost would be met by contributions from an un-named former Mayor and the family of a local man who died last year, with additional funding also from the Friends of the Borough Gardens and the town council.

The authority is also considering a new sculpture for the Gardens with designs likely to be invited from local schools when a theme has been agreed.

Both ideas will be explained in more details in the Town Council’s next newsletter.