The SGD Awards 2020 Winners Adolfo Harrison MSGD and John Davies have taken the two most prestigious awards at the Society of Garden Designers’ eighth annual awards ceremony, receiving the Judges' and Grand Awards respectively in front of an audience of almost 400 guests. The accolades were presented at a ceremony at The Landmark Hotel in London on Friday 31st January where 19 winners were announced out of the 39 projects and Penelope Hobhouse MBE was presented with the SGD’s ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. See the full list of winners and the Judges' comments below. Please click on the images to enlarge.
International Garden
Sponsored by Landform Consultants
Winner: Andy Sturgeon FSGD
Project: Snowberry Hill, Bermuda
What the judges said:
Contemporary design at its finest. Demonstrating meticulous finesse and attention to detail, stunning stonework and fabulous plant selection in its associations to form, architecture and year-round interest. A fantastic relationship between the quarry and garden demonstrating an extremely well-considered approach to design on a difficult site and in a challenging environment.
Student Design - Commercial
Sponsored by British Sugar TOPSOIL
Winner: Luke Arend
Project: Getting Out
College: London College of Garden Design
What the judges said:
A strong design of immersive experiences, demonstrating an excellent use of space and communicated through purposeful graphics, emotive sketches and a clean and simple Masterplan. The design hangs together as a cohesive piece of landscape as well as being realistic to implement.
Student Design - Domestic
Sponsored by British Sugar TOPSOIL
Winner: Tabitha Rigden
Project: Contemporary Woodland Edge Garden
College: London College of Garden Design
What the judges said:
A bold, purposeful design demonstrating a thorough understanding of the site and a particular lightness of touch. Comprehensively presented with persuasive and atmospheric images that perfectly capture the design intention.
Student Design - Domestic
Sponsored by British Sugar TOPSOIL
Winner: Joana Rzepa
Project: Chilterns Family Garden
College: London College of Garden Design
What the judges said:
An elegant, restrained and understated design showing extremely competent design skills. An excellent example of an achievable design supported with highly evocative and atmospheric visuals.
Small Residential
Sponsored by Outdoor Creations
Winner: Butter Wakefield
Project: Ribbon Wheel Garden
What the judges said:
A stunning garden that has been executed beautifully in difficult circumstances. Thoughtfully selected plants and materials combine to create a wonderfully engaging atmosphere full of glorious colour, texture and interest. An inventive, ingenious and soulful garden that you want to spend time in. An outright winner.
Large Residential
Sponsored by The Garden Builders
Winner: Helen Elks-Smith MSGD
Project: Lymington Garden
What the judges said:
This is a garden that sits extremely well into the sloping site, the proportions work very well and it wraps around the house providing a number of different areas to spill out into, each area connecting to the next. The level of detailing given to the hard landscaping is extremely high and, combined with the well chosen materials, really make this design stand out. Planting is well considered with good structural planting and use of perennials and grasses to extend the seasons. An extremely high quality design and build that answers the clients brief perfectly.
Beth Chatto Garden
Sponsored by Acacia Gardens Ltd
Winner: Sue Townsend MSGD
Project: Samphire
What the judges said:
A well laid out, practically designed garden showing the considered use of locally sourced materials and a well-chosen palette of drought-tolerant plants and contrasting foliage, thoughtfully laid out. This garden perfectly reflects its coastal location and is certainly a garden that would have met with Beth’s approval, a worthy winner of the inaugural Beth Chatto Award.
Medium Residential
Sponsored by Capital Garden Products
Winner: Acres Wild; Principal Designer Debbie Roberts MSGD
Project: Blue Doors
What the judges said:
A relaxed and timeless design that incorporates the landscape beautifully with a limited colour palette that harmonises with the local vernacular and spaces that flow, creating wonderful journeys throughout the garden. An excellent resolution to a difficult location.
Public or Commercial Outdoor Space
Sponsored by Platipus Tree Anchoring Systems
Winner: John Davies
Project: Stylus, 116 Old Street
What the judges said:
A hugely creative design that has been brilliantly executed demonstrating environmental responsibilities that we should all be embracing. An interesting and unusual mix of plants and textures offers structure and all-round interest and a wonderful link to various landscapes within the building. The hard landscaping arrangement is fresh and original. Good spatial awareness throughout and a nice balance of scale. It was also a pleasure to see that such a design had been successfully maintained with relative ease in a corporate environment. A refreshing use of planting and hard landscaping for a roof garden. A really lovely scheme.
Garden Jewel
Sponsored by Vande Moortel
Winner: Adolfo Harrison MSGD
Project: East Dulwich
What the judges said:
A great use of space creating a garden that is inventive, playful and different and one that demonstrates a creative use of materials and accomplished planting. A really clever solution to an awkward plot.
Healing, Learning Or Community Garden
Sponsored by Thrive
Winner: Bowles & Wyer; Principal Designer John Wyer FSGD
Project: Addenbrookes Hospital NHS 70 Garden
What the judges said:
A lovely community garden providing a calm, embracing feel and enclosed atmosphere for patients, visitors and staff. The limited planting palette works extremely well providing a strong rhythm to soften the timber fins. A lovely space which works fantastically well for the hospital
Paper Landscapes
Sponsored by Adrian Gray Stonebalancing Sculptures
Winner: Andrew Wilson FSGD, Gavin McWilliam MSGD, & John Davies
Project: Changping Penglai Hot Spring
What the judges said:
An extremely competent and beautifully presented large landscape scheme. Using Eastern influence and cleverly combining Chinese cultural references with traditional English landscape elements.
Big Ideas, Small Budget
Sponsored by Country Supplies
Winner: Sue Townsend MSGD
Project: Sea Dune
What the judges said:
A well-designed garden demonstrating a thoughtful use of local materials and a well-considered drought-tolerant plant choice, reflecting the local environment on the dry, sandy Suffolk coast. Whilst the challenge of the dropped property was admirably overcome, this design also matched the clients brief in bringing the look and feel of the beach round to the front of the property, whilst retaining the need for a low maintenance family garden to the rear.
Fresh Designer
Sponsored by Deepdale Trees Ltd
Winner: Caitlin McLaughlin
Project: Courtyard House
What the judges said:
A thoughtful and self-confident design that shows a mature restraint that one would not necessarily expect so early in a designer's career. An accomplished design demonstrating design skill and flare
Hardscape
Sponsored by Talasey Group
Winner: Butter Wakefield
Project: Ribbon Wheel Garden
What the judges said:
An exquisite piece of hard landscape design and construction that doesn't overwhelm the ambience of the space but instead pulls the garden together as a whole. Strongly specified design and drawings by the designer in a particularly challenging site with limited ground access above a tube station. Construction detailing is meticulous and materials have been thoughtfully selected to add colour, texture and interest to a shady garden.
Planting Design
Sponsored by Barcham Trees Plc
Winner: Stuart Craine MSGD
Project: Thornhill Road
What the judges said:
A beautifully restrained planting palette perfectly suited to the size of garden and demonstrating a good understanding of the competition between plants. Tonally very beautiful. Plant selected for long seasons of interest to ensure a good display year round. Sustainable floristry. Very simple design but works very well for the space. Well modulated. Love the way they use concrete beams throughout the garden and let the planting creep. Very charming. Lovely planting, very well put together. Beautifully done. Open and airy. Classic design for an urban design. Well executed.
People's Choice Award
Sponsored by Homes & Gardens
Winner: Acres Wild; Principal Designer Debbie Roberts MSGD
Project: Blue Doors
The People’s Choice Award is the only category in The SGD Awards that has been chosen in a public vote. The 16 shortlisted finalists from the following categories; International, Public or Commercial Outdoor Space, the Large, Medium and Small Residential Gardens, the Garden Jewel and Beth Chatto Garden were entered into this award and the winner was chosen by votes cast by SGD Members and the general public.
The Judges’ Award
Sponsored by Harrod Horticultural
Winner: Adolfo Harrison MSGD
Project: East Dulwich
What the judges said:
A great use of space creating a garden that is inventive, playful and different and one that demonstrates a creative use of materials and accomplished planting. A really clever solution to an awkward plot.
The Grand Award - Winner Of Winners
Winner: John Davies
Project: Stylus, 116 Old Street
What the judges said:
A hugely creative design that has been brilliantly executed demonstrating environmental responsibilities that we should all be embracing. An interesting and unusual mix of plants and textures offers structure and all-round interest and a wonderful link to various landscapes within the building. The hard landscaping arrangement is fresh and original. Good spatial awareness throughout and a nice balance of scale. It was also a pleasure to see that such a design had been successfully maintained with relative ease in a corporate environment. A refreshing use of planting and hard landscaping for a roof garden. A really lovely scheme.