Gardens of the Year 2026 - Best of the best | BBC Gardeners World Magazine

Our popular Gardens of the Year competition has been running for 10 years and to celebrate, we’re giving you the opportunity to choose your favourite. Take part in our special Gardens of the Year 2026 ‘Best of the Best’ People’s Choice vote and you’ll also have the chance to win one of five £100 Crocus vouchers.

Simply scroll down to see a roll call of our previous winners and get your vote in before midday 27 March 2026. Your vote will then go into a special prize draw for Crocus vouchers, redeemable against a range of flowers, plants, seeds or tools. The three gardens with the most votes will then be put before an expert judging panel to choose an overall winner.

Our previous winners told us how entering Gardens of the Year spurred them on to keep nurturing and adapting their designs, and we can’t wait to see how they’ve fared since we saw them last! So, get your garden or growing year off to a flying start by making the most of our special partner discount below.

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Best of the Best

Take a look at our winning gardens below and vote for your favourite garden by midday 27 March 2026:

2016

Steve Moodey, Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Winner – Small space category

Taking advantage of microclimates within his south-facing plot, Steve transformed a small, overlooked, clutter-filled garden into a tropical hideaway using dense structural evergreen foliage for privacy and to add to the tropical feel, and some tall exotic plants for scale and drama. A curved path through the various vistas also added movement and a sense of journey.

Magda D’Ingeo, Reigate, Surrey
Winner – Family Plots

The arrival of Magda’s daughter made her see her new build through fresh eyes, inspiring the creation of a natural playground that would entice her family outdoors, stimulate the senses and share her love of plants. Areas for play included a scented bower and rope swing, a vine-covered treehouse, and multi-tasking features such decking and a sandpit doubling as a coffee table.

Pam Woodall, Poole, Dorset
Winner – Wildlife Gardens

Opening up what appeared to be an impenetrable jungle of brambles and fallen trees, Pam then multiplied useful plants by seed and division to create a lushly vegetated garden. Adding a pond, vibrant flowers, log-edged paths for a woodland feel, and keeping mature trees, the space then attracted a host of wildlife including birds, amphibians, insects, squirrels, badgers and deer.

2017

Caroline Cassell, Waltham Abbey, Essex
Winner – Small Space and Judge’s Choice

Dividing a traditional cottage garden into a series of rooms, Caroline was able to add multiple spaces in which to enjoy the romantic and exuberantly planted borders, including a circular dining area and lawn, and a patio and deck placed to catch the afternoon sun. Climbers such a fragrant honeysuckle, small trees and box balls helped to blur boundaries, draw the eye upwards and add structure.

Helen Rushton, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire
Winner – Wildlife Friendly

What started as a derelict croft and rough farmland slowly evolved into a bucolic, biodiverse haven for wildlife with sweeping meadows, native shrubs and hedging, three ponds, and dozens of boxes for bats and nesting birds. The compost heap attracts pygmy shrews while roe deer roam among the wildflowers. The whole garden teems with bees, butterflies and invertebrates.

Caroline Critchlow, Mainland, Orkney
Winner – Challenging Plot

Battling with storm-force winds, Caroline and husband Kevin transformed their derelict plot using stone walls to create pockets of shelter, raised beds with staked plants and mesh-centred windbreaks, charming sculptures and a spectacular linear pond. The setting’s fantastic view of the Scapa Flow inspired a colour palette of resilient plants that would reflect the sea, with the design drawing the eye to what lies beyond.

2018

Wayne Amiel, South London
Winner – Judge’s Choice

Wayne took his narrow, north-facing site, full of builder’s rubber and on a different level to the ground-floor of the house and turned it into a little slice of his Jamaican childhood. The whole thing was done on a shoestring budget, using bold exotic foliage for a jungle feel, an intimate seating area of painted chairs, pots of vibrant blooms, and small trees and obelisks of climbers for height and shelter.

Richard Small, Tyne and Wear
Winner – People’s Choice

Visualising his small concrete yard as a plant-filled oasis, Richard painstakingly assembled a calming vista of containerised evergreens and a restrained palette of all-white flowers including alliums, foxgloves, lobella, and lupins. Terracotta-coloured tiles and gravel were also employed to create a link to the house, with lighting bringing the garden to life in the evenings.

2019

Frank Bowdler, Wigan
Winner – Judge’s Choice

Frank’s garden was originally dominated by a long side lawn with leylandii hedging and patches of sparse planting. Over several decades he filled it with hundreds of plant species, clever topiary, an old well covered with clematis, and meandering paths through the packed borders. A circular bricked patio provided a focal point at which to stop and enjoy the abundance.

Annette Eales, Hampshire
Winner – People’s Choice

This lawn to cottage garden project was as much about gardening as therapy as it was about creating a peaceful sanctuary for Annette and her family. The immersive and artistic space included a potting shed, pathways and pergolas, pollinator-friendly plants and wildflowers that complemented the meadow view beyond, a sheltered seating area and repurposed furniture serving as pots.

2020

Elizabeth and Malcolm Schofield, Buckie, Moray
Winner – Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice

Given the task of turning a steep hill above a public footpath on the north-east coast of Moray Lizzie, Malcolm and their daughters created a flower-filled paradise for all to admire combining tropical planting and a gravel-pathed coastal aesthetic. Small, raised beds were added for growing vegetables, wildflowers sown on the bank, and the kids took full advantage of the slope via a built-in slide.

2021

Thomas Jose, South Yorkshire
Winner – People’s Choice

After developing a series of hidden shelves on which to show off his beloved collection of Japanese maples, Thomas then crammed every space with plants for year-round interest but also to enhance the colourful autumn display provided by the acers. Many of the plants are in pots so an extensive but sustainable irrigation system was needed to keep the garden at its best.

Nadine Mitschunas, Oxfordshire
Winner – Judge’s Choice

Nadine took on a sunny, weed-choked allotment site and created a paradise bursting with blooms and buzzing with wildlife. Working over three plots, hundreds of ornamental species grow alongside an abundance of fruit and vegetables and through her work as a pollinator ecologist, included stunning naturalistic planting that encourages a host of wildlife to visit.

2022

Vicky Ward and Maxine Stringer, Cornwall
Winner – People’s Choice

Steep inclines, exposed conditions and a truly remote location were some of the challenges Vicky and Maxine overcame as they gardened their allotment-style plot by the sea. Stone, reclaimed wood, found objects and a host of tropical but resilient plants were brought along the coastal path to be integrated into what is a now a garden in which to also enjoy the sea.

Nicola House, Kent
Winner – Judge’s Choice

Designing a holiday-at-home sanctuary where her family could truly feel rested was a big impetus behind the creation of Nicola’s naturalistic idyll. Taking a relaxed approach to planting meant mixing ornamentals, wildflowers, veg and herbs, while almost every structure has been donated, upcycled or repurposed. The shed is a particularly important place by which to gather round a fire and enjoy the view.

2023

Clive-Johnson Cooper, Edinburgh
Winner – Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice

When Clive moved into his house, there was no garden, just a makeshift extension that the previous owners used as a living room. Having gardened since childhood, he used his passion to create a courtyarded oasis just streets away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre focusing on the careful positioning of structured and tropical foliage to create a private and immersive green space.

2024

Sara Faulkner, Raynes Park, London
Winner – Judge’s Choice

Sara’s small, urban back garden is now a nature-loving haven for family and wildlife with several seating areas, a summerhouse, and vintage furniture and pots to give it a boho, lived in feel. Dividing the plot into three interwoven sections, and planting multiple small trees, shrubs and climbers around the boundaries to create depth and privacy, plus colourful perennials, this layered garden now provides year-round interest.

Andi and Jo Butler, Telford, Shropshire
Winner – People’s Choice

Jo and Andi were largely inspired to create their lushly planted tapestry of creatively designed garden ‘rooms’ by their travels in Asia, using upcycled materials and propagated plants and flowers, and working around several mature trees. It includes multiple, innovatively lit seating areas, a greenhouse and grow your own area, an extensive collection of roses and hostas, and an abundance of wildlife-friendly planting.

2025

Simon Richards, Folkestone, Kent
Winner – Judge’s Choice

Simon’s beautiful gravel garden was partly inspired by attempts to upkeep a traditional lawn over recent hot summers. Having recycled turf and soil, and added structure with two interlinked, wildlife-friendly ponds, a drought-tolerant prairie-style planting palette was introduced throughout the bed, borders and pots. Places to sit and take shade completed the picture.

Kamal Hussain, Saltaire, Yorkshire
Winner – People’s Choice

Creating a colourful, flower-filled garden that brings joy to passersby as well as providing for pollinators and other beneficial wildlife was the inspiration behind Kamal’s transformation of this tiny canal-side space. A bijou seating area surrounded by containerised plants and flowers and climbers provides a place to read, relax, and watch the world go by. It’s also a haven for passersby who stop to share the joy.

Vote for your favourite garden

Voting terms and conditions

Discover the winners

The three gardens with the most votes will be announced in our June issue, which goes on sale 14 May 2026. The overall winner will be announced in our October issue, which goes on sale 17 September 2026. Subscribe today to get copies in the post.

The purpose of this vote is to allow users of the site to express their views on the subject of the question. While the results will be of interest to other users and the editorial team, it is not a representative sample and only reflects the views of those who choose to participate. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.immediate.co.uk/terms-and-conditions