B&Q’s Gardener of the Year competition is back!
Following last year's success, which saw Matthew Symonds crowned B&Q Gardener of the Year, we’re delighted to announce that the competition will be returning for a fourth year. With brand new categories, a new panel of judges and £10,000 up for grabs, this competition has quickly become a highlight in the gardening calendar.
Last year's winner
The winner of the 2023 B&Q Gardener of the year competition was Matthew Symonds. Matthew had been working on his garden since he and his husband moved into the house nearly 20 years ago. Since then, it has been a labour of love, transforming the small space from a concrete square with weeds, into a cleverly designed multifunctional garden
This year's categories
This year, the winner of each category will receive a £1000 cash prize and one of the winners will be crowned Gardener of the Year. So, what are you waiting for? Could you be next? No matter the size of your outdoor space or the money invested, it’s time to dig deep and show us your precious outdoor masterpieces.
Most sustainable garden
This category is for the garden that uses natural resources to thrive. It uses clear water management, natural pesticides and companion planting. It includes plants and flowers that help wildlife flourish. Hedgehog hideaways, bee hotels, composting and water butts. The garden is a natural sanctuary for all.
Best use of planting
This category is for the gardener that understands the importance of time, care and attention when building and caring for their garden. This isn’t an overnight job. This is about sourcing perfect plants, carefully tending to them year after year and enhancing every corner with contemporary additions that provide talking points when entertaining friends and family. Every texture and shape is considered. Every space is maximised. No matter what season, your garden will be thriving with flowering plants, incredible colours and interesting layers - creating a garden of abundance all year round.
Best use of small space
Many people have small outdoor spaces such as balconies, courtyards, or small urban gardens. We want to see how this has not been a barrier to people wanting to garden. We’d like to see innovative ideas for space saving, such as nifty storage or multifunctional areas. We’re also looking for how, regardless of space, plants have been incorporated at every opportunity.
Best garden for entertainment
This place is perfect for relaxing and entertaining. Your landscaping seamlessly works with the natural environment that surrounds it. Your guests love coming over to enjoy your garden and summer BBQs are a big moment in your social calendar. You’ve thought about how planting plays a part in your entertainment space and your kitchen garden and BBQ area provides a perfect space for all the senses.
Most sustainable garden
This category is for the garden that uses natural resources to thrive. It uses clear water management, natural pesticides and companion planting. It includes plants and flowers that help wildlife flourish. Hedgehog hideaways, bee hotels, composting and water butts. The garden is a natural sanctuary for all.
Best use of planting
This category is for the gardener that understands the importance of time, care and attention when building and caring for their garden. This isn’t an overnight job. This is about sourcing perfect plants, carefully tending to them year after year and enhancing every corner with contemporary additions that provide talking points when entertaining friends and family. Every texture and shape is considered. Every space is maximised. No matter what season, your garden will be thriving with flowering plants, incredible colours and interesting layers - creating a garden of abundance all year round.
Best use of small space
Many people have small outdoor spaces such as balconies, courtyards, or small urban gardens. We want to see how this has not been a barrier to people wanting to garden. We’d like to see innovative ideas for space saving, such as nifty storage or multifunctional areas. We’re also looking for how, regardless of space, plants have been incorporated at every opportunity.
Best garden for entertainment
This place is perfect for relaxing and entertaining. Your landscaping seamlessly works with the natural environment that surrounds it. Your guests love coming over to enjoy your garden and summer BBQs are a big moment in your social calendar. You’ve thought about how planting plays a part in your entertainment space and your kitchen garden and BBQ area provides a perfect space for all the senses.
Meet the judges
Judging the gardens for 2024 will be B&Q’s Head of Horticulture, Mairi Devlin and RHS judges and garden designers Humaira Ikram and Matt Childs. This mighty team will judge entries and crown the B&Q Gardener of the Year 2024, who will be awarded £10,000. And, for this year, we are introducing four fantastic category judges, who perfectly represent their category within their own gardens and dedicate time teaching and inspiring their followers on their social media channels. Each judge will choose a winner for their category who will receive £1,000.
Humaira Ikram
Humaira Ikram has been working as a professional garden designer and Director of Studio Ikram for over 10 years. The studio creates carefully crafted landscapes and gardens, which aim to be sustainable, beautiful, playful and liveable. She cares deeply about sustainability and her knowledge on the sector is vast.
Matt Childs
Matt is an award-winning garden designer and has designed a diverse range of exciting landscapes both in the UK and internationally. Matt’s approach to garden design is to tailor gardens to each client and produce outdoor spaces which have a strong narrative, are a reflection of the people who use them and the surroundings in which they sit.
Mairi Devlin
Mairi has over 20 years’ experience in the gardening sector. She is incredibly passionate about horticulture and, in her role as Head of Horticulture, ensures B&Q as the UK’s leading garden retailer continues to deliver innovation and exceptional value to its customers.
Jamie Walton AKA @nettlesandpettles
Jamie is an organic grower, circular gardener, forager and conservationist. He hopes his posts help people interact with nature in some way, and that by widening our collective knowledge and deepening our connections to the natural world, we can transform our gardens, yards and even windowsills into beautiful, biodiverse and productive spaces, all whilst reducing waste and our impact on the environment. Jamie will be judging best use of sustainability.
Adam Marshall AKA @greenfingeredcityboy
Adam is a city gardener who believes gardening is for everyone. He documents is garden journey for his followers on Instagram and YouTube and has transformed his small space into a wonderful oasis, using every inch of space to create something truly beautiful. Adam will be judging our best use of small space category.
Annabelle Rogers AKA @designermumetc
Ever since she was a little girl Annabelle always dreamed of living in a cottage with a white picket fence. She has always loved the countryside although she can enjoy a day or two in London she really has made her garden a place of tranquillity and a place to spend time in relaxing or entertaining. Annabelle will be judging our best garden for entertaining category.
Jonny Hincks AKA @gardenwithjonny
Firefighter Jonny loves his garden in his Warwickshire home. He loves plants and understands the importance of planting and gardening on your mental health. Jonny will be judging our best use of planting category.
Humaira Ikram
Humaira Ikram has been working as a professional garden designer and Director of Studio Ikram for over 10 years. The studio creates carefully crafted landscapes and gardens, which aim to be sustainable, beautiful, playful and liveable. She cares deeply about sustainability and her knowledge on the sector is vast.
Matt Childs
Matt is an award-winning garden designer and has designed a diverse range of exciting landscapes both in the UK and internationally. Matt’s approach to garden design is to tailor gardens to each client and produce outdoor spaces which have a strong narrative, are a reflection of the people who use them and the surroundings in which they sit.
Mairi Devlin
Mairi has over 20 years’ experience in the gardening sector. She is incredibly passionate about horticulture and, in her role as Head of Horticulture, ensures B&Q as the UK’s leading garden retailer continues to deliver innovation and exceptional value to its customers.
Jamie Walton AKA @nettlesandpettles
Jamie is an organic grower, circular gardener, forager and conservationist. He hopes his posts help people interact with nature in some way, and that by widening our collective knowledge and deepening our connections to the natural world, we can transform our gardens, yards and even windowsills into beautiful, biodiverse and productive spaces, all whilst reducing waste and our impact on the environment. Jamie will be judging best use of sustainability.
Adam Marshall AKA @greenfingeredcityboy
Adam is a city gardener who believes gardening is for everyone. He documents is garden journey for his followers on Instagram and YouTube and has transformed his small space into a wonderful oasis, using every inch of space to create something truly beautiful. Adam will be judging our best use of small space category.
Annabelle Rogers AKA @designermumetc
Ever since she was a little girl Annabelle always dreamed of living in a cottage with a white picket fence. She has always loved the countryside although she can enjoy a day or two in London she really has made her garden a place of tranquillity and a place to spend time in relaxing or entertaining. Annabelle will be judging our best garden for entertaining category.
Jonny Hincks AKA @gardenwithjonny
Firefighter Jonny loves his garden in his Warwickshire home. He loves plants and understands the importance of planting and gardening on your mental health. Jonny will be judging our best use of planting category.
B&Q Community Garden of the Year
B&Q’s Community Garden of the Year competition is back! Following last year's success, which saw Tim Shelley, a community garden project leader from Hereford and his team of volunteers, landing the B&Q Community Garden of the Year, we’ve returned, with a new guest judge and a £2,500 B&Q gift card to help grow and maintain the project.
This year our panel is looking to see how an outdoor space has been transformed for the better, resulting in a positive benefit of a community or group of people.
Our judges want to see how your community garden project has positively impacted mental and physical wellbeing, and in particular:
- How the community garden project has encouraged the inclusion of a range of people in the community for example, different age groups
- How plants and growing them has been incorporated to allow for sensory enjoyment, but also the ability for people to get involved in growing
- How the community garden has been a benefit to wildlife and biodiversity with consideration for sustainability in its construction and ongoing care
- Evidence of the fun factor where the garden has allowed the people or group benefitting from the community garden or space to be creative and express themselves
The team behind the winning garden will receive a £2,500 B&Q gift card for the growth and maintenance of the project. Terms and conditions for the use of the gift card apply. The deadline for entries is 12pm on Friday 21st June 2024. The winner will be contacted by Friday 28th June 2024.
Gardening ideas & advice
Read expert help and advice from our Gardener of the Year judges
See full terms and conditions here