NS&I selects and nurtures gardening talent

Three innovative and modern designs have been selected as winners in the NS& I Growing Gardens Today competition at BBC Gardeners' World Live 2008, in association with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The designs all featured growing vegetables as a key focus, a requirement of the competition that links in with NS& I's ongoing sponsorship of the RHS Grow Your Own Veg campaign.

The winners, based in Nottingham, East Sussex and Leicestershire, will all receive a £5000 grant to build a 25m² garden and the opportunity to witness it on display in the Grow Your Own area of the show.

Tim Mack, Head of Marketing and Communications at NS& I commented, "The winning designs all encompass sustainability and diversity, we look forward to seeing how vegetables can be grown in a small and yet creative space. NS& I were delighted by the standard of entries to our unique competition at this year's BBC Gardeners' World Live."

Three winners - three very different approaches

Beauty and function in a small space

Winner Andy Tudbury from Nottingham was awarded a Bronze medal at last year's BBC Gardeners' World Live for his first show garden. He founded Halcyon Days Garden Design in Nottingham after completing a two-year Foundation degree in Garden Design. Andy is looking forward to taking part in the competition, saying, "Growing vegetables has always played a big part in my life - my father was a very keen and knowledgeable gardener who at one time even kept three allotments on the go! With a greater need for sustainability and more awareness of the need for a healthy lifestyle, vegetable growing is taking on a whole new level of importance."

Andy's design shows that even with limited space, a vegetable garden does not need to be dull, but can be both attractive and practical. His design allows for easy access and combines a wide variety of vegetables, with a selection of fruit and herbs. Southwest-facing garden beds also provide additional drainage and achieve maximum sunlight in order to generate the highest yield.

Interior design, outside

This is the first time that winner Claire Potter from East Sussex has built a show garden. An interior designer by trade, she spotted the competition while looking on the NS& I website for Premium Bonds. She hopes the competition and her chosen design will encourage people to think differently. She says, "Growing Gardens Today is a theme that I believe to be representative of the increased interest in growing your own food, sustainability and responsibility" .

Claire's garden encourages people to 'eat' directly from the garden and, as such, will incorporate over three dozen different varieties of vegetables that are easy to grow in a small space. The garden is also very sustainable with a large water storage area included in the space, often missing from some garden designs, and the main landscape materials are mostly recycled and use fully sustainable paints and timber.

Easy to grow, good to eat

Winner Peter Stevens from Leicestershire is a largely self-taught garden designer. He and his company, Peter Stevens Garden Design have exhibited previously at the BBC Gardeners' World Live exhibition in collaboration with James Green of James Green Landscapes winning a silver gilt medal and two silver medals in previous years.

Peter grew up with an affinity for gardening and has used his experience to design this year's show garden. He will build the garden using some recycled and reclaimed materials. With vegetable growing on the rise, Peter's garden endeavours to show how a small space can still maximise on 'growing' area.

He says, "The design will demonstrate how a vegetable growing area, incorporated into a small garden, is not difficult to maintain and is structurally appealing to the eye." Peter's plants and vegetables are easy to grow, while still producing tasty results. In addition, provision is made for water collection and a shade structure is a strong visual device - and also practical to provide protection on a warm sunny day.

Show details

The three designs are in pride of place in the "Grow Your Own" area at this year's BBC Gardeners' World Live (11-15 June 2008), being held at the NEC Birmingham.

Visitors to the show will have the opportunity to choose their favourite of the winning designs in a public vote. Each of the three winners will also provide NS& I with a weekly 'blog' in the build-up to the show. Keep visiting nsandi.com/rhs for further details on the winners and their designs as they progress in the lead up to the show.