Image: Belvoir Castle’s Flower and Garden Show winner from 2024, Richard Bowman
Belvoir Castle, the historic estate near Grantham, is seeking garden designers to take part in a highly regarded competition happening during its Flower and Garden Show.
Taking place on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th July and in its eighth year, the show is looking for 15 designers to compete to win ‘Best Countryside Border’. Open to anyone involved in garden design, horticulture and landscaping, the competition is supported by the London College of Garden Design and celebrates planting design and showcases new garden designers and horticulturists in their careers.
In the past, other designers have used the win as credentials for other competitions, including winning best in category at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
This year’s theme is ‘Countryside Borders’ with a special focal element of pollinators. The 15 successful applicants receive a grant of £200 from CED Stone, the show’s lead sponsor, to help cover the costs of materials, as well as access to CED supplied hard materials, whilst having access to an engaged audience and the opportunity to kickstart their career at a prestigious event.
Andy Tudbury, head gardener at Belvoir Castle, and other industry heavyweights form the judging panel. They are keen to see individual designs that reflect designers’ work, experiences or personality, use plants suitable to the time of year and most importantly fit the theme.
Andy said: “Showcasing up-and-coming talent from the surrounding area, the UK and abroad is an important part of the Flower and Garden Show and something members of the public look forward to seeing. We’d love to hear from as many budding designers as possible, who are looking for opportunities to showcase their talent and get in front of other green-fingered enthusiasts.
“For the competition, you may decide to create a wildlife friendly design, a sustainable planting garden for summer droughts, or a rain garden for increasingly wetter years – whatever it is, we like to see personality, creativity and a unique take on the theme.”
To submit a design, applicants should submit one A3 page and include an outline drawing of their idea, including an elevation of the planting design and brief description of the narrative, as well as a mood board showing the plants they’ll use. Entries should be submitted by Tuesday 15th April, and successful applicants will be notified with plenty of time ahead of the competition in July.
Howard White, Operations Director for CED Stone Group, said: “We’ve supported Belvoir’s Flower and Garden Show since its inception and what better way to support garden designers than sponsoring the borders competition. It’s a great opportunity to take a step into the world of show garden design, and we would thoroughly recommend getting involved.”
Richard Bowman, last year’s winner of the borders competition said: “Winning at Belvoir last year really was the pinnacle of my horticultural career. It opened my eyes to a world of horticulture I never thought I’d explore but now I’ve well and truly got the show garden bug.
“The highlight of the show was talking to like-minded people about the story behind the garden and the plants within it. My advice to any potential applicant is, create a design that is relatable to the show goers, give them a display they can take home and recreate themselves. The best thing you can do as a show garden designer is to inspire but most of all, just love every minute of the experience, from build to takedown!”
Email your submission either as a PDF digital copy to: Andy Tudbury on halcyondays.ge@gmail.com or post a hard copy to: Andy Tudbury, Head Gardener, The Estate office, Belvoir Castle, Woolsthorpe Road, Belvoir, Grantham, NG32 1PA.
For more information, please visit: https://www.lcgd.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Countryside-Borders-at-Belvoir-competition-2025-2xx.pdf
Posted on 08 April 2025
