Stay-at-home garden competition

Many of garden shows have had to be cancelled this year due to Coronavirus, including the RHS Flower Shows around the UK. However, there is something for everyone in London College of Garden Design’s (LCGD) new online, stay-at-home competition. Win a professional bursary worth £6,000; and plants and materials for a school.

LCGD’s supports new garden designer talent through a planting design competition. The good news is, this hasn’t been cancelled, it's just been taken online. In addition, over the next few weeks the College plans to share videos¹ of design creations made by professional designers in their own gardens and backyards.

How to get involved If you can safely get out into an open space and create a new planting design, whether it’s your own garden or a community space, the organisation wants to hear from you. Even if you can’t get outside you can submit your designs on paper. There’s also a photography category.

What they’re looking for Design a great planting scheme that shows your skills and your idea off on a theme of ‘Embrace your garden’. You might decide to create a wildlife friendly design, a waterwise planting for summer droughts or party planting in pots for a balcony.

More details in ‘How to enter’.

Categories and prizes

Professional Designer – the best design will win a student bursary worth £6,000 for a place on the LCGD London Planting Design Diploma in 2021 or 2022.

Schools and Children – will receive the plants and materials when schools reopen to help you realise your design (anywhere in the UK, Australia or New Zealand).

Photography – the great garden shoot off – email a great photograph of the planting you’re doing in your garden whether its sowing seeds or planting vegetables and the best will feature on Instagram with a special exhibition for the top 20 later in the year and a prize of a free photography course.

¹Here is the first LCGD video by Ben Hoyle to give you some insights and top tips.