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Courtyard jungle in Edinburgh crowned Garden of the Year by BBC Gardeners' World magazine

Wednesday 25 October, 2023

An urban-jungle garden, nestled in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland, has been named the Judgesโ€™ Choice winner inย BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazineโ€™s annual Gardens of the Year Awards 2023.

With an array of carefully curated plant species and a thoughtfully designed layout, Clive Johnson-Cooperโ€™s garden in Edinburgh was the chosen winner from almost 1,000 entries by expert judges including: TV gardening presenter and Gardenersโ€™ World magazine columnist, Alan Titchmarsh; BBC Gardenersโ€™ World TV presenter, Arit Anderson; multi-award-winning garden designer, television presenter, journalist and author, Ann-Marie Powell; Yeo Valley Organic Farmโ€™s head gardener, Sarah Mead; BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazine Editor, Kevin Smith, and last yearโ€™s winning gardeners.

When Clive moved into the home in 2005, there was no garden. Clive transformed a makeshift extension, creating an outdoor space and the small Scottish courtyard is now a serene and tranquil oasis, just streets away from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh city centre.

This yearโ€™s entries to BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazine Gardens of the Year 2023 competitionย revealed new trends influencing gardenersโ€™ designs, including a notable shift towards gardening in more compact spaces, with a surge in creativity in the use of diverse foliage and leaves. The winning Scottish garden is a tapestry of leaves of different sizes, shapes and textures, with all the plants expertly chosen, positioned and woven together.

The Gardens of the Year judges loved Cliveโ€™s sophisticated garden and unanimously agreed that it should be the 2023 Judgesโ€™ Choice.

Arit Anderson commented: โ€œI love the views from both the balcony and bedroom, what a wonderful outlook to wake up to. Heโ€™s considered the views from both parts of his house. The fact that heโ€™s managed to create a garden here is great.โ€

Alan Titchmarsh commented: โ€œThis is very good. Heโ€™s really thought about the scale of the garden and also the texture created by the foliage. Heโ€™s brought the garden together very successfully. And I love the cheeky metal signs.โ€

BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazineโ€™s Editor, Kevin Smith, adds: โ€œCliveโ€™s garden proves that you donโ€™t need a lot of space to create a peaceful garden. Itโ€™s simple, mostly green, but really beautiful. The mix of different plants makes it feel like a small jungle in the city, and the climbing plants make the space seem bigger. Itโ€™s very calming, even in the middle of the busy city. Itโ€™s a challenge to get the planting just right in such a small space, but Clive has done an impressive job.โ€

Cliveโ€™s garden is now also entered into BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazineโ€™s Peopleโ€™s Choice Award, alongside seven other gardens who made the final shortlist, including:

ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Lyn Buller, Kent

ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Oliver Hymans, London

ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Irene Berry, Scottish Borders

ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Dionne Sambrook, Warwickshire

ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Andy Spray, Leicester

ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Simon Mabury, Leeds

ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Helen Maxwell, Carmarthenshire

All the shortlisted gardens can be found on GardenersWorld.com and inside the November issue ofย BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazine.