Dobbies Announces ‘Not Your Average Gardener’ Winners

• Gardeners across the UK receive £5k worth of prizes

Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, has announced its ‘Not Your Average Gardener’ winners with four lucky winners across the UK winning gardening products to help their green spaces flourish.

The community initiative aims to celebrate and support passionate gardeners from across the UK, irrespective of experience or gardening space, following the positive rise in Brits enjoying gardening.

The Not Your Average Gardener winners are:

• Most Sustainable Gardener, Jane Clark (62), Renfrewshire
• Best Mini Garden Makeover, Philip Smith (47), Bridport
• Best Houseplant Parent, Jack Joyce (28), Leamington Spa
• Best Young Gardener (under 16 years), Daniel Walker (10), County Durham

The judging panel included Broadcaster, Jo Whiley; Dobbies’ Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles; Dobbies’ ambassador and ITV This Morning’s Daisy Payne; and Dobbies’ ambassador and gardening influencer, Henry Agg. The expert panel had the challenge of selecting a worthy winner for each of the four different categories who deserved the recognition and support.

Jane, Philip, Jack and Daniel have received giftcard to spend in store, product contributions and advice from the Dobbies’ team on how best to bring their gardening areas to life.

The most popular category for the awards was Best Mini Garden Makeover, which invited nominations from those who have a more compact space to work with. The higher number of nominations in this category highlights how gardening has become more inclusive, with garden space not impacting creativity and passion for gardening, no matter the space or budget.

Retired Head Teacher and current RHS level two gardening student, Philip, has transformed his mini garden space and shares his advice. Philip said: “The best thing about gardening is that there are no rules, and you can reuse and repurpose your existing plants as much as you like. I wanted to create a bright space that would put a smile on not only my family’s faces but also those of my neighbours and our wider community. It’s been a delight to have people comment on my mini garden makeover and it really shows you that you don’t need much to transform your space.”

Judge Jo Whiley was impressed with the calibre of entrants: “The nation has blown us away this year with their gardening talent. We’ve seen some beautiful gardens and plenty of passionate gardeners who are using sustainable practices to make their green spaces bloom. It’s great to see how many people have given gardening a go, no matter their experience or garden space, and I’m excited to see what the winners do with their prize.”

Dobbies’ Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles, said: “We are thankful for everyone who took the time to enter our awards and offer the winners our warmest congratulations. It was an incredibly challenging process choosing just four winners out of so many brilliant applicants, but that clearly means we’ve got a lot of keen gardeners out there!

“Sustainability was a large part of the judging criteria, and it’s been great to see so many gardeners across the UK using eco-friendly practices and products.”

For more details on Dobbies’ Not Your Average Gardener visit: https://www.dobbies.com/not-your-average-gardener-awards

Source : Dobbies

Image : (C) UNP Dobbies Philip Smith Solwayash 002

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