6 minute read
The SGD Awards 2022
Garden by Gavin McWilliam MSGD and Andrew Wilson FSGD, winner of the Large Residential Landscapes and Gardens award in 2021.
COULD YOU BE AN AWARD WINNER IN 2022?
With the SGD Awards 2022 already open for entries, now is the time to choose your project, assess your photography, and pull your submission together
Whether you are a sole trader or a partnership, and whatever your Society membership status, so long as you are an active SGD garden designer, there is an award category to suit every one. Which you enter is up to you, of course, but to be in with a chance of winning this year, you need to make your choices now.
There are 18 award categories in total across the main and student awards (see full list on page 32), with opportunities offered to all levels of SGD membership and open to any size and style of garden.
With a growing number of members telling us that more and more of their commissions specify sustainability and the environment, we have launched two new award categories so you can showcase these designs in particular: in the main awards, there is the Roof, Podium and Raised Courtyard Gardens Award, and in the student awards, there is now an Urban Sustainability category, which is open exclusively to qualifying members and Friends aged 30 or under.
Whichever award or awards you choose to enter, ‘Don’t be afraid to have a go,’ says Lynne Marcus MSGD, SGD Chair. ‘As our past winners will testify, there are so many personal and professional benefits to entering the SGD Awards. Success is not only a huge confidence boost and the opportunity to raise the profile of your business in a growing industry, it’s the chance to step back and rigorously assess your work; a wonderfully constructive process that can only advance your company. For anyone who thinks the SGD Awards is not for them, I would urge them to reconsider; take the time to enter and reap the many rewards that the Awards have to offer.’
TO ENTER, VISIT sgd.org.uk/events/awards DATES TO REMEMBER
12 January 2022
Early bird fee and entry form deadline MAIN AWARDS
2 February 2022
Standard fee and entry form deadline MAIN AWARDS
16 February 2022
Submission deadline MAIN AWARDS
6 April 2022
Early bird fee and entry form deadline STUDENT AWARDS
20 April 2022
Standard fee and entry form deadline STUDENT AWARDS
6 May 2022
Submission deadline STUDENT AWARDS
20 June 2022
Shortlists announced
23 September 2022 SGD Awards Ceremony
‘I was thrilled to win both the Design for the Environment and the prestigious Judges’ Award for Sedlescombe Primary School Sensory Garden. When I entered, I was unsure whether it would be taken seriously by the judges as the garden cost just £5,000 and was built almost entirely by volunteers, with no design fees. The SGD Awards are the most respected in the industry and standards are very high, so to win two awards with the cheapest garden in the room was astounding and shows that great design can be achieved on a shoestring and will be recognised regardless of budget.’
Kristina Clode, pictured left, winner of the Design for the Environment award and The Judges’ Award in 2021.
Photo: Marianne Majerus
WHAT THE WINNERS SAY
Thinking of entering the SGD Awards 2022… wondering what the benefits might be? Read what some previous winners have to say:
‘We’re relatively new garden designers so it was great to receive a nod to our designs. We have very happy clients, and we enjoy our work, but it adds an extra something, to have that recognition from the industry. Entering the awards gave us an opportunity to look back at the gardens we’d created, and to pause and reflect on our work. The awards are a building block, bringing us recognition within the industry and beyond.’
ALICE FERGUSON MSGD and JAMIE INNES, Artisan Landscapes, winners of the Big Ideas, Small Budget, Garden Jewel and People’s Choice Awards 2021
‘I was so delighted that my garden was shortlisted in the SGD Awards and really chuffed to actually win. As a relative newcomer to the industry, success at the SGD Awards has already had such a positive impact on my studio. Recognition from the SGD and the judging panel of garden design professionals I greatly admire is a huge confidence boost, and it definitely helps to build a fledgling business profile. Potential clients, contractors, craftsmen and suppliers feel confident in your abilities, and existing clients feel they made the right decision in choosing you in the first place.’
SHEILA JACK, winner of the Fresh Designer Award 2021 THE CATEGORIES FOR 2022
Borough City Garden by Tony Woods MSGD, Garden Club London, winner of the Small Residential Landscapes and Gardens award in 2021.
‘It’s an incredible feeling, winning an SGD Award. To gain recognition from your peers in this way counts for a great deal; it also reinforces to clients past, present and future the value you bring to a job. Any award submission takes time and effort, but it’s worth it when you have a project you believe in. Attending the awards ceremony with so many high-profile designers is a special thing in itself, but to be named a winner…just, wow!’
TABITHA RIGDEN, co-winner with HELEN SAUNDERS of the Paper Landscapes Award 2021
‘Success at the SGD Awards has undoubtedly had a positive impact on our practice. It’s given us the confidence to be more ambitious in our designs, and braver when presenting these ideas to clients and architects. The judging panel is made up of designers and standard bearers I greatly admire, so I believe to receive their recognition is the highest honour a garden designer can achieve.’
MAIN AWARDS
1. International Residential
Landscapes and Gardens 2. International Commercial or
Community Landscapes and
Gardens 3. UK Commercial or Community
Landscapes and Gardens 4. UK Roof, Podium and Raised
Courtyard Gardens NEW 5. Large Residential Landscapes and Gardens 6. Medium Residential Landscapes and Gardens 7. Small Residential Landscapes and Gardens 8. Garden Jewel 9. Big Ideas, Small Budget 10. Design for the Environment
Open to Student members and
Friends
11. Healing or Learning Landscapes and Gardens Open to Student
members
12. Fresh Designer Landscapes and Gardens 13. Planting Design 14. Hardscape Design 15. Paper Landscape Design
STUDENT AWARDS
16. Student Design – Domestic 17. Student Design – Commercial 18. Student Design – Urban
Sustainability NEW
HONORARY AWARDS
19. The Lifetime Achievement Award 20. The People’s Choice Award 21. The Judges’ Award 22. The Grand Award
ADOLFO HARRISON MSGD, winner of the Garden Jewel and Judges’ Award 2020
‘Winning the SGD Grand Award in 2019 was a great accolade for my studio and wider team. It has brought increased recognition for my design approach and a lot of interest in the way we do things. The SGD Awards are a great way of having a project assessed for technical quality. I would recommend them for the rigorous process required as well as the potential luck of being shortlisted or even winning.’
MARIAN BOSWALL MSGD, Grand Award winner 2019
