The 2008 Awards

This page contains the details of the judges' comments on the 2008 Garden Media Guild Awards.

• Broadcast Awards

 

TV Broadcast of the Year

An intelligent, honest and inspiring programme, beautifully shot and edited, and the narrative is clear from the start: you’re going on a journey that is very personal to Rachel, but which we can all relate to. The pacing is perfect; great use of news footage; and plenty of opportunities to soak up the beautiful shots of gardens and flowers, which are cut to lovely music.

 

National Radio Broadcast of the Year

The various methods of keeping slugs at bay were enhanced with very good soundscapes and music. An excellent balance of voices in the opening sequence and the studio debate offered some convincing arguments both for and against the slug.
We never thought we would hear a 'slug hugger' on the radio, another radio first for Woman's Hour!

 

Local Radio Broadcast of the Year

This took gardening to one of the youngest members of the Radio Lincolnshire audience. The use of seed mats was well described and a great way of getting very young and inexperienced gardeners involved. Daphne had the charm and observational dialogue of the late Joyce Grenfell and a well-honed rapport with Sue.
Young Frankie was a real star and obviously enjoyed taking part in the  programme. The judges can only imagine how many other 'Frankies' have now been encouraged to start growing seeds!

 

• Multimedia Awards

 

Digital Media Award

Gardeners Click shows great innovation and its design looks clean and fresh. It stretches the medium of website building more than the others and encourages a lively sense of community among gardeners. It also offers good gardening advice.
It was an extremely close run thing with only an onion skin layer between the three short-listed candidates.

 

Digital Media Blog Award

Blackpitts has an original voice, amuses, is quirky, informative and up-to-date. Good pictures, advice, readable. An insider’s view.
Jane Perrone’s blog is informative, has thoughtful messages, is interactive – but needs more updating.
BBC Chelsea blog was engaging and informative. It just lacks the unique voice of Blackpitts.

 

New Writer Award

Joe Reardon-Smith can produce fast, useful and informative reading, with a sense of place and personality that makes it most appealing...
In the long term, enthusiasm – even well-informed enthusiasm – cannot carry the day. It is important for writers to re-read their pieces critically, and maybe speak them out loud. They should study how experienced journalists in any field structure their work; and they must read lots and lots of good, extended prose.

 

Environmental Award

This was a compelling, haunting, beautifully written and imagined piece that examined environmental degradation in a (dry and dusty) far away place in a manner that really brought the issues to life.
Without mentioning 'climate change' until the final sentence of the piece, the author brought home the human and environmental costs of our changing environment with a story that will likely stay with readers for a long time.

 

Young Gardener Initiative

One man cannot encourage the entire nation of children to get green-fingered, but one man can inspire thousands of teachers to pick up the trowel with confidence – and that’s exactly what Dominic has done.
Thornford School helped to kick-start the Edible Playground Project and it now grows food for the school kitchen. Head Teacher, Ian Bartle and project leader, Susan Clegg are highly commended for their inspirational leadership and the school is a very worthy co-winner of this inaugural award.

 

• Photography Awards

 

Photographer of the Year

The unanimous winner gave us a very good cross section of images from close-ups to sweeping views, together with strong use of a limited colour palette – real freshness and atmosphere captured.
Overall, a very high standard submitted, encompassing a huge range of work, inspiring the reader to grow and eat.

 

Features Photographer of the Year

The images really tell the story: day-to-day activities portrayed in an interesting way – even the rubbish and tractor maintenance look interesting.

 

Single Image of the Year

This image immediately stood out to all the judges. It was meticulously planned and executed – and it perfectly captures the moment.

 

• Book Awards

 

Inspirational Book of the Year

Even someone who couldn’t care two hoots about rhododendrons would be gripped by the sheer bloody mindedness of these two as they suffered awkward locals, ticks the size of pennies, food poisoning, sodden tents and numerous travel headaches in their good-humoured quest. The anecdotes are delightful, the photographs of plants, people and views are breathtaking. What an inspiration to us all.
We also take our hats off to Shirley Sherwood for breathing life back into botanical illustration. Hers really has been a one-woman campaign and with what hard work and such magnificent results! And Christopher Stocks’s passion for, and research of, his subject makes Forgotten Fruit a fascinating read – and not just for experts.

 

Practical Book of the Year

Breathtaking photography, great structure, and an easy writing style draw the reader through from beginning to end. Excellent step-by-step projects, a good plant directory and a brilliant wildlife directory complete the package.
Congratulations too to Charles Dowding whose passionate, authoritative book elevates the humble salad leaf to a starring role in the veg gardening firmament; and also to Gardening With Kids where simple, clear – but never patronising - writing and first class photography make it easy for adults to pass on knowledge to children. All three books are inspiring.

 

Reference Book of the Year

A really helpful and easy-to-follow guide for gardeners trying to choose a clematis from the hundreds available with lots of inspirational, fresh ideas and great pictures; Raymond’s sense of humour was evident, yet it is still a good reference book.
The three on the shortlist were authoritative and succeeded in conveying that authority in a readable and appealing way. They also fill important and significant gaps in the existing literature. All three books would be great sources of reference for home gardeners, combining information and inspiration but without being dry.

 

• Press Awards

 

Newspaper of the Year

This year, changes in layout and content have increased its appeal to young and beginner gardeners while for ‘old hands’ there is still plenty that is new and challenging. The judges were impressed by the excellent design and editing and by the many pleasing illustrations. With contributions from well-known and respected professionals and enthusiastic, successful amateurs, the result is an instructive, sometimes inspirational and always thoroughly enjoyable read.
All three short-listed newspapers are to be commended on their efforts to widen their appeal to the gardening public. The focus on food shows good anticipation of current reader concerns.

 

Magazine of the Year

A beautifully rounded product. Clever covers, excellent juxtaposition of text and photography, an information-packed format that varies pace, yet beautifully visual and easy to navigate for the reader, a great mix of big-name writing and gardening essentials for amateur gardeners at all levels of experience, and always with an eye on the upcoming generation. It is no mean feat to turn out a magazine of this quality month after month.
In addition to the other two excellent finalists, the judges felt that Country Living magazine had great merit, although not a specialist gardening magazine. It was a joy to read – beautifully laid out and edited.

 

Journalist of the Year

Fascinating and inspirational, but with some practical information too. You could visualise the gardens, trees, shrubs and plants described, and more importantly Roy’s passion left you just itching to visit that garden or to cram yet more plants into your pit. A great example to us all.
Frank Ronan’s column from The Writer’s Plot was a seriously refreshing read while Clare Foggett’s work in Garden News covered unusual and interesting topics in a very easy-to-read style.

 

Practical Journalist of the Year

All the entries in this category were of such high quality that the award could have gone to any one. But, the winner has taken a subject that has been covered many times, and produced within it so many innovative ideas.

 

Trade Journalist of the Year

The judges were unanimous in their choice of Matthew Appleby as the winner of this award. He demonstrates excellent researching skills and also outstanding and persistent journalistic ability in following this up with well focused interviews with most of the key players to draw out their differing visions, thoughts and philosophies. This was artfully put together in an attractive and punchy format which makes compulsive reading.
Marc Rosenberg’s article on animal sales was felt to be an exceptionally competent and informative review of a complicated topic. Miranda Kimberley’s article about the Institute of Horticulture’s Young Horticulturist of the year competition was informative and captured both the dedication of those running this competition and the persistence of those trying to win it.

 

News Story of the Year

This unusual story concerns a plea for the repatriation of certain plants grown in British gardens back to their homeland in Greece. The plea, by a Greek botanical institution, will encourage gardeners cultivating such plants to believe that they might yet make a meaningful contribution to plant conservation.
All credit to writer Jean Stowe and Editor Mike Grant for highlighting an issue that merits the widest possible audience. The other two finalists impressed the judges with their stories on a deadly fungal infection and dealing with the menace of the lily beetle, both being of importance to amateur gardeners.