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BBC Local Radio and RHS design a garden competition

BBC Radio Derby, BBC Radio Sheffield and BBC Radio Stoke are joining forces with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to run an exciting garden design competition.

We’re looking to build three gardens at RHS Chatsworth Flower Show in Derbyshire in June 2019 – and your design could be one of them.

We want to know what type of garden plot you would create. Our theme for 2019 is ‘My Garden’, taking inspiration from your local area, and thinking of creative ways of designing to get the most out of a small space.

A winning design from each station - BBC Radio Derby, BBC Radio Sheffield, BBC Radio Stoke - will be chosen to represent the corresponding radio station.

Your design can be created digitally, or by hand and must be submitted by post – the key element is that your ideas are clear to the selection panel (which will include RHS and BBC representatives).

The selection panel will be looking for originality and innovation, reflecting the unique heritage and landscape of your particular area, how well the garden interprets the brief, how interesting and creative the design is and the creative and effective use of plants. Our aim is to inspire our show visitors with great take home ideas and demonstrate how creative you can be when designing for a small space, set within a local theme.

We’ll need your entries by Thursday 31 January 2019. Three designs will be chosen – one from each region. The winning designers will be given the opportunity to work with a professional mentor and landscape contractor to bring your design to life at the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 5- 9 June 2019.

How to enter

This is a competition to design ‘My Garden’ based on a 6m (depth) x 4m (frontage) flat site. Any excavations should be no deeper than 1 metre.

Your entry form and design drawings should be sent to the corresponding radio station:

  • My Garden competition, Emma Newman, BBC Radio Derby, 56 St Helen's Street, Derby, DE1 3HY.

  • My Garden competition, Mike Woodcock, BBC Radio Sheffield, 54 Shoreham Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 4RS.

  • My Garden competition, Andrew Bowman, BBC Radio Stoke, Cheapside, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 1JJ.

What’s next?

You will be invited to visit Chatsworth House whilst your garden is being built from Wednesday 22 May 2019 onwards.

There will be an opportunity to meet the show team at Chatsworth House prior to the show to see where your garden will be placed.

What the judges are looking for?

The entries will be selected by a panel (to include RHS and BBC representatives) using the following criteria:

  • How well the garden interprets the brief
  • How interesting and creative the design is for a small space
  • The creative and effective use of plants

Shortlisted entrants will be ranked by the panel – against the set criteria.

Click here for full Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice.

Top tips

Things to consider when designing your garden:

  • Landscaping materials (not to be commercially recognisable)
  • Details of structures included (not to be commercially recognisable)
  • Furniture/accessories to be featured (not to be commercially recognisable)
  • Details of any excavations (e.g. pond).
  • You should not include public access to your garden.
  • The perimeter of you garden needs to be considered in your design i.e. fencing, hedging, walls etc.
  • My Gardens’ are 6 x 4m = 24 sq m. They will be viewed from the front and side and therefore must include boundaries on two sides, (back and left hand side) The side boundary should be a maximum height of 2m, except at the front of the garden where they should be a maximum height of 1.2m for the first 2.4m.
  • Gardens will be laid out as shown in image 1 of the Terms and Conditions, with a gap of 3m between each garden boundary, allowing visitors to walk freely around the gardens.

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