NATIONAL AWARDS 2021
National Landscape Award winners honoured at London ceremony
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mid the grand setting of the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, winners of the National Landscape Awards were once again showered in glory. After a necessary move to a virtual event last year, the eagerly anticipated physical return of the largest landscaping awards in Europe, generously supported by headline sponsor Green-tech, was a roaring success.
We welcomed close to 1,000 guests, joining us to celebrate the best of the best from within our industry in luxurious style as we bestowed 29 Principal Awards, four Special Awards and the much-coveted Grand Award. BBC Radio Five Live’s Colin Murray played a perfect host, telling his stories about his aspirations as a young man to pursue a career in landscaping prior to being lured into the world of journalism.
Graduate Gardeners win Grand Award
The big prize of the night, the Grand Award, sponsored by headline sponsor Green-tech, was won by Graduate Gardeners for Private Garden, Cheltenham. It was selected as the overall winner from the Domestic Garden Construction over £250K category, sponsored by Europlants UK. You can read the full story and find out more about this amazing scheme on page 8. 24
LANDSCAPE NEWS WINTER 2021
Graduate Gardeners had an incredible afternoon, also receiving a Principal and Special award for Best Design and Build for the same submission and won another Principal Award for a Private Garden, Battledown, Cheltenham in the Domestic Garden Construction between £60K and £100K category, sponsored by Johnsons of Whixley.
Four special awards presented In total we bestowed four Special Awards at the ceremony, including Graduate Gardeners’ Best Design & Build, sponsored by Springbridge Direct.
Best First Time Entrant, sponsored by Makita UK, went to Bespoke Stone Walling for their work at a Private Residence in Gloucestershire. Their submission was from the Domestic Garden Construction between £100K and £250K category, sponsored by Van den Berk Nurseries. The original walled kitchen garden of this large private estate had been derelict for many years. Working to a plan drafted by the current Head Gardener, and liaising closely with English Heritage, the contractor began by repairing the garden’s rear wall, ready for construction of a large greenhouse. In advance of constructing the raised beds using block work and dry-stone cladding, complex irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems were installed that
would utilise run-off from the new greenhouse and paths. The timeless look of this extensive project has been achieved by the expert selection and use of reclaimed materials and stone recovered from the estate. This saved time and money and avoided potential delays in material supply resulting from the pandemic. During lockdowns, the contractor was able to work entirely independently and safely, completing the project to the client’s total satisfaction. The Judges’ feedback was that the contractor responsible for this outstanding project is an artisan and craftsman in the truest sense of those words. This scheme is a direct reflection of his passion for and dedication to realising the vision of the client to the absolute best of their professional ability and doing so in testing times. It is an exemplar of professionalism of which all Association members should strive to achieve.
Best Use of Technology, sponsored by Overtec, went to a project in the Regeneration Scheme, Under £500K category. Carrier Landscapes won the award for the work they did at Kelham Hall, Nesfield Parterre de Broderie. There have only ever been two parterre restorations at Kelham Hall, one back in the 1950s and this second one by Carrier Landscapes.
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