Young Gardeners of the Year 2018

Northern Soul

The Myerscough students have created a tranquil haven that boasts a ‘living edible wall’, making the most of every square inch of space to grow your own vegetables.

Sustainability is key in this garden, with all materials being sourced locally and with the paving draining into the rill and pond, allowing the overflow to be reused to irrigate the vertical garden.

The planting scheme is designed in such a way as not only to add colour and form to the garden but also to encourage a variety of native wildlife and insects. The two tiers of paving are easy to maintain and will look good all year round.

Her Colours

Writtle’s garden represents a calm tranquil and harmonious space to escape from everyday working life.

The water stepping stones provide a journey away from all stresses. The water will also act as a catchment area for harvesting water that can be used as irrigation for the garden plants.

Carex ‘Prarie fire’ grasses are planted in swathes which provide calming movement and a gently sound, inter planted with Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’ to provide some of the colours in this landscape.

A multistem Prunus Accolade provides cover and shape with in the space and comes out to one side of the deck.

Superfoods for Horse and Human

This “Superfoods” garden from Reaseheath aims to provide growing space for a nutritious and delicious range of plants to promote health benefits for both humans and horses.

Beds at different levels provide accessible foods for picking, with the addition of preparation areas to create a functional space for active, health-conscious equestrians.

The focus of the space is on practicality with planting combinations providing colour and texture.

Vertical elements are in the form of structures and planting to provide additional interest and the choice of materials reflects a focus on sustainability.

Kelleway’s Corner

Capel Manor’s garden is based on the silks of Gay Kelleway, the first female jockey to win at Royal Ascot in 1987.

You enter the garden between raised beds that are made from recycled scaffold boards and planted with herbs and mixed planting.

The chamfered edges allow rainfall to flow back into the beds thereby reducing run off.

The side boundaries are purple beech that are good for biodiversity, are sustainable, help with noise reduction, have good autumn colour and keep their leaves in winter which makes them an attractive all year interest plant.

The Winner’s Circle

Pershore’s garden is inspired by sustainability and a love of equestrian pursuits.

The students have encouraged nature through the placement of wildlife byways allowing for the movement of hedgehogs alongside a green roof pergola to attract insects and provide a pleasant outlook across the garden.

The microclimate provided by the urban environment allows for a planting scheme which is drought tolerant and minimal maintenance.

Meanwhile, the garden itself harmonises the increased need for sustainable gardens with a bio barrel to assist and help with processing heavy downpours and flash flooding by holding water and gently filtering it back into the ground.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Shuttleworth’s garden is composed of ideas to benefit both the ecosystem and the owner.

All construction materials are either made from reused timber, plastics and locally sourced plants and the design aims to be as sustainable as possible while being practical for an urban setting.

The tiered raised bed featured in the garden has a pipe installed to allow water to drain through the media and through the reed bed, allowing water soluble nutrients to pass through and be utilised, controlling surface water.

Sound, touch, taste and smell have been incorporated to provide a truly three-dimensional design with the use of water features and a variety of textured plants for a natural wind chime effect.