Practical Book of the Year

Mark Diacono
New Kitchen Garden: How to Grow Some of What You Eat No Matter

Where You Live
Judges’ comments
An attractive, well-written and well-laid out book with lots of solid information on growing staple crops as well as unusual vegetables including Nepalese raspberries, Asian pears and Chilean Guava. You felt at every stage that Mark Diacono had personally grown a whole range of different crops whereas many of the practical books entered lacked real personal authenticity and practical knowledge.
Finalists
Kay Maguire RHS Red Hot Chilli Grower: The Complete Guide to Planting, Picking and Preserving Chillies
Monty Waldin Biodynamic Gardening
Naomi Schillinger Grow All You Can Eat In Three Square Feet
Dr D G Hessayon The New Fruit Expert

Reference Book of the Year

JClaire Austin
Claire Austin’s Book of Perennials
Judges’ comments
This is a superb book, suitable for anyone from a beginner to a trained horticulturist. It is well laid out with a fantastic information section at the beginning, covering everything from putting perennials together, what species to select for beneficial insects and practical advice. It is clearly explained and easy to read and navigate. Every plant is beautifully photographed, which is invaluable for ease of identification or selection. Fabulous planting combinations are shown; a visual inspiration for any keen gardener or expert. Wonderful value for money.
Finalists
Matthew Biggs RHS Lessons from Great Gardeners: Forty Gardening Icons and What They Teach Us
Jonas Reif, Jürgen Becker & Christian Kress Cultivating Chaos

Inspirational Book of the Year

Jane Powers
The Irish Garden
Judges’ comments
A superbly researched book that reads as wonderfully as it looks. Sumptuous, illustrative photography illustrates copy that takes you by the hand to enjoy a journey through the history, styles, variety, atmosphere and characters of a huge range of valuable Irish Gardens. There is much to admire and inspire in the pages of the book, and its relevance is so important to any gardener’s library. Congratulations to the husband and wife writer/photographer team Jane Powers and Jonathan Hession, their passion for the gardens in the area they live is alive and obvious in every page.
Finalists
Victoria Clarke The Gardener’s Garden
Heidi Howcroft & Marianne Majerus Garden Design: A Book of Ideas
Carol Klein Making a Garden: Successful gardening by nature’s rules
James Wong Grow For Flavour

Garden Publication of the Year

Juliet Roberts
Gardens Illustrated
Judges’ comments
Reading Gardens Illustrated feels like a pleasure and a privilege. The reader is never patronised, rather you feel you want to rise to meet its expectations. It is so clearly a labour of love, carefully constructed and full of soul and storytelling. Stunning photography is used well in a clean design alongside carefully chosen illustrations, but its good looks are never at the expense of usefulness. A hugely enjoyable and satisfying read.
Finalists
Clare Foggett Garden News
Lucy Hall BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine
Steve Ott Kitchen Garden Magazine
Chris Young The Garden

The Dr David Hessayon Garden Columnist of the Year Award

Alys Fowler
Guardian Weekend
Judges’ comments
The columns submitted for this award showed the breadth and depth of garden writing in Britain, whether published in national newspapers and magazines, regional publications, or blogs. The winner is Alys Fowler, whose beautifully written columns in the Guardian Weekend show an impressive degree of scientific and technical insight. Her enthusiasm for gardening, and her elegant prose, succeed in completely engaging the reader.
Finalists
Bob Brown Bob Brown in My Garden
Carol Klein This Week at Glebe Cottage
Jane Moore The Bath Magazine
Jane Perrone A New Leaf

News Story of the Year

Marc Rosenberg
‘Feed or weed? Spot the difference’ – Amateur Gardening
Judges’ comments
This story had wide appeal, came straight to the point and resulted in a change. The writer picked up the fact that there was a genuine risk to gardeners due to poor packaging through Twitter and contact with readers – this story did not start life as a press release. The headline was strong and the story was clear. A unique story that proves that the written word has the power to cause positive change – even when talking to giant brands. A fine example of good journalism.
Finalists
Matthew Appleby Stink bugs expected to establish in UK 
Ian Hodgson New disease blights poppies – Garden News

Journalist of the Year

Ambra Edwards
Roy the Rover – The English Garden
Lest We Forget – The Garden
Women in Garden Design – Gardens Illustrated
Judges’ comments
Ambra deserved to win this category as her features were all very well researched. They were engaging reads which were accessible for laymen and gardeners alike. Great garden writers are the ones who find a balance between telling us about special gardens and the people who created them - often in their own words. There were especially powerful pieces about the unsung talents of our female garden designers and the pity of the First World War which destroyed a generation of gardeners. We were reminded that great gardens are created by people with the commitment to produce gardens not just for themselves, but for others to enjoy too.
Finalists
Stephanie Mahon: A natural talent – The English Garden; The slow lane – The English Garden; Behind the schemes – The English Garden
Veronica Peerless: Concrete Jungle; Looking for Inspiration; Calm in the Chaos
Sue Stickland: Pumpkin & Squash on Trial; Time for a Fruity Haircut; Plum Gorgeous
Matthew Wilson: The Healing Power of Green – Financial Times; The Twist in the Trail – Financial Times; Evil Under the Sun – Financial Times

Practical Journalist of the Year

Kay Maguire
Fastest harvests – BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine
Time-saving tomatoes – BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine
A year of veg from a metre plot – BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine
Finalists
Clare Foggett: All about the buzz! – Garden News; Fantastic fragrance – Garden News; Grow your own drinks! – Garden News
David Hurrion: The Big Question: Will my plants survive the winter? – BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine; The Big Question: When can I sow seeds outdoors? – BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine; Your pruning year – BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine
Joyce Russell: Make a Mini Greenhouse; Make a Bean Frame; Make a Slug-Proof Salad Container
Val Bourne: Wonders of Witch Hazels – Amateur Gardening; Salvias – Amateur Gardening; Hardy Orchids – Amateur Gardening

Trade Journalist of the Year

Jane Perrone
Social Media – Garden Centre Retail
Plastic Fantastic – Garden Centre Retail
The Kids are alright – Garden Centre Retail
Judges’ comments
All entrants covered a range of topics, interesting and relevant to a trade audience. Each offered different styles of writing from snappy news coverage to more in depth analysis and features, making it a difficult decision to name an outright winner. Jane Perrone’s articles stood out as most engaging and offered a nice pace and flow, plus a welcoming friendly writing style that carried you through to the last sentence. Advice taken from these articles is bound to inform the reader and aide them in maximising sales potential for the topics covered within their garden centre retail outlets.
Finalists
Matthew Appleby Horticulture Week

Photographer of the Year

Jürgen Becker
Judges’ comments
Jürgen’s images are full of atmosphere. They demonstrate a mastery of daylight, and the way it transforms the mood of a garden. His compositions are balanced yet busy and full of interest while his use of delicate colour lends a painterly feel to his work.
Finalists
Jonathan Buckley
Jason Ingram
Marianne Majerus
Clive Nichols

Features Photographer of the Year

Andrew Montgomery
Summer is a-coming in / Michaelmas Feast
Finalists
William Collinson To the Manor Borne
Jason Ingram Fit for a Prince/Highgrove
Volker Michael Sunset and Sunrise in the Dutch Garden ‘Jakobstuin’
Clive Nichols Amateur Photographer

Book Photographer of the Year

Marianne Majerus
Garden Design: A Book of Ideas
Finalists
Heather Angel Pollination Power
Andrew Lawson The Gardeners’ Book of Colour
Andrew Lawson Oxford College Garden
Marianne Majerus Die Geheimen Garten von England: Entdeckungen im Gartenparadies

TV Broadcast of the Year

Liz Rumbold
Gardeners’ World 2015 – Ep 21
Judges’ comments
It was hard to slip an onion skin between the winner and the runners up: Gardeners' World produces consistently high quality programmes but this one really stood out. The topic of fungus may not initially thrill, but this episode weaved useful new and practical information on the serious and debilitating disease box blight and growing mushrooms for pleasure. RHS research on pollinators was also timely and enlightening and the crowd-pleasing visit to the gardens of Downton Abbey was a delight.
Finalists
Bridget Boseley & Gary Broadhurst Great British Garden Revival, Series 2 – Daffodils & Blossom, Trees and Shrubs
Gwyneth Hardy The Beechgrove Garden, Programme 14, 2015
Chloe Rawlings Glorious Gardens From Above, Essex
Liz Rumbold Gardeners’ World 2015 – Ep 24

Radio Broadcast of the Year

Alys Fowler, Jane Perrone & Alice Williams
Sow, Grow, Repeat
Judges’ comments
Sow, Grow, Repeat is a great advocate for radio gardening shows. The presentation was bright, very informative and filled with questions gardeners would like answered. The standard of broadcasting was extremely high across the whole series and the judges loved the quality of the guests and the mix of topics.
Finalists
Marian Foster Gardenmania, A Golden Year
Andy Garland Sunday Gardening
Cherrie McIlwaine Gardeners’ Corner
Jonathan Ray & Reg Moule Gardening Phone-In
Jim Ward, Lucy Dichmont & Alex Feldman RHS Gardening Podcast #53

Environmental Award

Helen Bostock
Plants for Bugs – The Garden
Judges’ comments
This year’s entries were diverse and of excellent quality. The quality of writing across the board was outstanding, the environmental issues conveyed with clarity and imagination. We chose Helen Bostock’s ‘Plants for Bugs’ from The Garden for its quality and significance. It reports on new research that for the first time articulates the enormous wildlife value of non-native plants in our gardens, whatever their size. Helen’s piece is superbly written, and was the standout entry that decisively identifies and chronicles a project that has had a positive benefit on the environment and our guardianship of it.
Finalists
Val Bourne The Plant Factory
David Hurrion Interactive bird issue – Jan 15 BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine
Matthew Wilson Peace Blooms: Cattle, Conflict & the Roses of Lake Naivasha

The Alan Titchmarsh New Talent Award

Vicki Cooke
Article on www.richardjacksonsgarden.co.uk
Judges’ comments
The judges were unanimous in their choice as this article stood out above the other entrants. Vicki’s passion and knowledge shines throughout. The article is full of historical and current facts. It illustrates her first hand knowledge especially in the practical tips she gives for today’s gardeners.
Finalists
Conor Gallinagh Seedbeds, Seed & Seedlings
Ruth Hayes Fertilisers for Free – Amateur Gardening
Marianne Landzettel – The Garden
Karen Murphy A University Challenge – The Garden

Blog of the Year

David Marsden
theanxiousgardener.com
Judges’ comments
This is a deserved winner as it meets the judging criteria exactly: it is well written, has a clear sense of the human behind it, and has plenty of relevant gardening and plant-related information on it. It is funny, likeable, has beautiful photographs and a good balance between text and images. It also gives a public insight into a private world, which makes the viewer feel they are gaining special access to his beautiful, planterly view on life. It is a stunning example of what a blog should feel like, look like and read like.
Finalists
Andrew O’Brien – growgardencare.com
Caro Shrives – urbanvegpatch.blogspot.co.uk

Website of the Year

Richard Jackson
www.richardjacksonsgarden.co.uk
Judges’ comments
Richard Jackson's Garden is the clear winner in this category because of its fresh and enthusiastic use of the medium, across all platforms. We were not only impressed with the photography and layout but also the quality and variety of writing. The presentation is clear, with relevant links and intuitive navigation. Nothing is too dumb or too clever; Richard Jackson and co have managed to pitch to a broad audience; a difficult feat in garden media.
Finalists
Clare Dixey – thompson-morgan.com
Daniel Haynes – gardenersworld.com
Sarah Raven – sarahraven.com
Alana Tapsell – schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk

New Media of the Year

Lucy Hall
BBC Gardeners' World Magazine digital edition

Lifetime Achievement Award

Adrian Bloom