a year in review: garden media guild


Horticultural ‘Oscars’ announced


Held at The Savoy, London, UK, on Thursday 21 November, the Garden Media Guild Awards were attended by more than 350 industry professionals, including Garden Centre Update’s editorial team. Alex Fordham reports


t’s been a significant year for the horticultural industry in the UK. From topical and newsworthy subjects such as eliminating plastics from our garden, to the social prescribing of gardening to improve mental health and other ailments, it’s been a year to celebrate within the gardening and DIY industries. With this in mind, Garden Centre Update were lucky enough to attend the Garden Media Guild Awards, the self-titled horticultural ‘Oscars’. As one of the principal events on the horticultural calendar, over 350 industry figures attended, including news journalists, photographers, broadcasters, bloggers and social media influencers. The Garden Media Guild itself is a trade organisation endeavouring to improve the quality of garden writing, photography and broadcasting, and keeping members up-to- date on the world of horticulture. Kicking off the event, co-chair of the Garden


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Media Guild, Constance Craig Smith, introduced the event with a rallying call to the industry to be proud of the successes of the industry. In quoting from her presentation prior to the awards, she said: “It’s fantastic that so many of this year’s winning entries highlight the force for good that gardening can bring and across such a diverse range of platforms, from social


14 | www.gardencentreupdate.com


media, vlogs and blogs to TV programmes and long-standing print magazines. “The entire world of gardening media is in a


wonderful position to highlight the increasing social, environmental and health benefits gardening, plants and being engaged with nature, can offer to everyone whatever their age.” This year’s award winners included Sally


Chandler who won Social Media Influencer of the Year for Beth’s Chatto’s Plants & Gardens website. Chandler has created a celebration of the life of one of the UK’s greatest gardeners and has used excerpts from Chatto’s Notebook to compare the garden then and now, with up-to-date images illustrating the plantswoman's inspiring words.


The winner of Practical Journalist of the Year was won by gardening national treasure Alan Titchmarsh for his articles for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, including those on creating plants for free and advice on how to grow super spuds.


The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was this year presented to gardening - presenter and plant guru, Carol Klein whose natural, down-to-earth approach has made her a popular and trusted figure among the British public over the last 30 years.


On receiving her awards, an emotion Klein reflected: “Apart from having my daughters and getting married, it’s the best day of my life,” she said. “I’m so thrilled, and to have been given the award by my mentor Roy Lancaster, it’s all the more special. “I just love plants and the natural world, and


I’m so lucky to have worked in this industry. It’s the most thrilling experience and an enormous privilege and a huge honour to receive this award.” The inaugural Beth Chatto Environmental


Award was scooped by Sally Nex for her writing on plastic-free gardening in The Garden magazine. “This was a series I wrote for the garden magazine, over the course of an entire year,” explained Nex. “It has given me a chance to express how I’ve been able to reduce plastic usage in my garden. It’s been a very personal project to me and something that is very close to my heart.”


The event was also an opportunity to pay homage to two of the Guild’s supported charities, Greenfingers Charity and Perennial. Greenfingers Charity creates outdoor spaces for children who spend time in hospices to enjoy with family, friends and siblings, and Perennial offers horticulturalists, their children and their families help in times of crisis.


GCU December/January 2020


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