Budding gardeners wanted!

From the archive, first published Monday 27th Feb 2006.

BUDDING garden designers are being urged to follow in the footsteps of green-fingered Ilminster man Julian Compton.

Last year, Mr Compton, had a hat trick of successes at last year's National Amateur Gardening Show - scooping the awards for best feature garden, gold medal and best garden for his garden using the Golden Section, a ratio used in design since ancient times.

The Student, Showcase, Feature, and Allotment Garden Design Competitions are one of the major highlights of the National Amateur Gardening Show each year.

And on Wednesday, March 1, potential entrants have the chance to find out more about them all at a special gardens day at the Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, where this year's competitions will be officially launched.

Previous winners have progressed to great things. Several have gone on to launch their own landscape and design companies. Others have seen their careers flourish with big names in the gardening world.

Mr Compton, who runs his own garden design company Land Art, won the Best Showcase Garden and the Best in Show awards at the 2004 with his Help Yourself garden.

His work then captured the interest of expert horticulturalists nationwide - so much so that Amateur Gardening Magazine, which runs the Show in conjunction with the Bath & West Trading Company, invited him to design and build their "Arts and Crafts" garden for them.

Any eager garden designers wanting to follow in Julian's mudprints and take up the gardening challenges at the Show this year, should contact show organiser Patsy Scadding now on 01749 822235 for entry forms in all categories.

Individual applications and entries from students on horticultural courses at colleges are all welcome.

Entries for Showcase gardens need to be based on 6m x 6m plots, Feature Gardens can be any size, allotments are 5m x 5m and the designs for the Student Challenge Competition, which is sponsored by Bowland Stone, need to be for 4m x 4m plots.

Further information can be obtained at The Gardens Day which takes place at 10.30am on Wednesday, at the Showground and where last year's winners will be expanding on the all the pleasures and the pitfalls.

People interested in attending the Gardens Day should book in with Mrs Scadding in advance.

As well as the kudos of the chance of winning top accolades in one of the country's top gardening shows, trophies, certificates and thousands of pounds worth of cash prizes await the winners.

The National Amateur Gardening Show, now in its 11th successful year is once again sponsored by Renault and takes place at the Bath & West Showground, from September 1-3.

Entries should be submitted by mid April and all designs need to be submitted with full details by May 1.

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