The BBC Gardeners’ World events’ Beautiful Borders are compact, 9m2 show gardens are a popular highlight at the shows and aim to provide visitors with inspiration for small or challenging garden spaces.
Participating in the BBC Gardeners’ World events by creating a Beautiful Border is an opportunity to gain show garden experience at a large-scale public event, to showcase design skills to a large, enthusiastic audience. Designers, landscaping professionals, first-time designer or student, gardening club, community group or charity can apply. Limited bursaries worth £200 are available to applicants for plants and props – 25 bursaries for the flagship BBC Gardeners’ World Live and twelve for the Spring and Autumn Fairs.
The theme for the 2025 Beautiful Borders competition is ‘Cultivating Connections’, inspired by the power of garden spaces, no matter how small, to foster meaningful connections of all kinds. Whether it’s connecting cultures, species, generations or communities, or deepening our relationship with nature, education or mental wellbeing, the organisers are looking for small spaces with big impact.
Entries are assessed on site at all events by professional assessors, with medals for all and awards presented for Best Beautiful Border, Best Interpretation of the Theme, and Best Subscriber Border for the best design by a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine subscriber. Event visitors have their say too, voting for their favourite Border in the Peoples’ Choice award.
Lucy Tremlett, Event Director at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World events, said: “We – and our visitors – never cease to be impressed at the creativity that goes into the Beautiful Borders. The designs are not only technically brilliant with an eye-catching aesthetic, but really come from the heart, often reflecting a designer’s personal story, journey or experience. Gardens are wonderful spaces to bring human beings and nature together, so the Cultivating Connections theme should inspire some really strong entries. We can’t wait so see them!”
Winners of the ‘best in show’ Beautiful Borders and Platinum awards at BBC Gardeners’ World events’ 2024 competitions:
- BBC Gardeners’ World Live, NEC Birmingham: Leanne Woods for Following In My Footsteps, inspired by the designer’s experience of following in her grandparents’ gardening footsteps. The Border provided a dual space for relaxation and for children to play.
- BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, Beaulieu, Hampshire: Andrew Williamson and Laura Hall for Together, inspired by the supportive space provided for people affected by cancer at Maggie’s Southampton.
- BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, in association with English Heritage, Audley End House and Gardens, Saffron Walden, Essex: Amy Drewitt for The Daisy Chain, a multi-generational family garden.
Amy Drewitt, winner of the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair Best Beautiful Border, said: “I had such an amazing experience designing and building a Beautiful Border. Working alongside such industry titans and gaining so much experience was amazing. To end up winning a Platinum and then Best Border was a real dream come true and has helped me to launch my own garden design business.”
For the application form, bursary information and all the competition details to enter a Beautiful Border for a 2025 BBC Gardeners’ World event can be found here.
Applications close on 23 January 2025 for BBC Gardener’s World Live and the Spring Fair, and 1 May 2025 for the Autumn Fair.