Gardens of the Year 2019 competition
Discover the winners of our Garden of the Year 2019 competition, sponsored by Inspired Villages.
We've travelled the country to bring you fantastic real gardens created and cared for by our readers. We whittled down hundreds of entries to find six finalists who were judged by our expert panel: Alan Titchmarsh, Diarmuid Gavin and Kate Gould. Their votes resulted in one winning and two highly commended gardens. Discover the results of our Gardens of the Year 2019 competition, sponsored by Inspired Villages, below.
People's Choice Award
Voting for the People's Choice Award has now closed - thank you to everybody who voted. The winner will be revealed shortly, so check back soon to see if your choice came out top.
Judges' Choice: Frank Bowdler, Wigan
When Frank first moved into his house it was dominated by a long side lawn and was sparsely planted. Over the past 32 years he's filled it with hundreds of plant species, from woodland ferns to tropical cannas.
See more of Frank's beautiful garden on YouTube
This is a gardener who knows his plants - I want to sit in this garden!
Highly Commended: Simon Hall, Staffordshire
A 75m-long strip of overgrown land, choked with brambles and bindweed, was what awaited Simon and his wife Dawn when they moved to their house 28 years ago. Slowly but surely, Simon worked his way up the plot creating six garden rooms, each with a distinctive look and a relaxing place to sit. He's managed to make each area feel unique, rewarding exploration as the garden reveals its secrets room by room.
See more of Simon's ingenious garden on YouTube
He's got real commitment and creativity
Highly Commended: Richard Applegate, London
Gardening on a narrow concrete rooftop in East London hasn't stopped Richard (with help from partner Nathaniel) from creating a vibrant container garden that benefits neighbours and wildlife alike. Our judges loved the welcoming atmosphere, surrounded by colourful flowers and edibles.
Take a closer look at Richard's garden on YouTube
I would smile coming home to this
Prizes
Thanks to our sponsor Inspired Villages, our three winners won these fantastic holidays...
Top prize
An eight-night tour of Costa Rica for two people, including return flights, worth £5,000, courtesy of Collette Travel. Since 1918, Collette Travel has been offering comprehensive land tours, river cruises, rail journeys, garden holidays and more. Costa Rica is a paradise teeming with exotic plants, incredible animals, lush forests and stunning waterfalls.
Two highly-commended prizes
Both aboard elegant Fred. Olsen cruise ships and worth £2,500 each.
An eight-night cruise of the Norwegian fjords, for two:
Brought to you by Connoisseur Travel, cruise to the Norwegian fjords on one of Fred. Olsen’s elegant smaller-sized ocean going cruise ships, giving you the opportunity to discover towns, cities and scenic wonders that may be out of reach to larger ships.
An eight-night cruise to Spain and Bordeaux, for two:
Cruise to Bordeaux and Spain, courtesy of Connoisseur Travel, an experienced 'independent' Travel Agency and Tour Operator along with Fred.Olsen cruise lines. Fine wine, wonderful architecture, ancient art and much more awaits you.
