Edinburgh winner of BBC Garden of the Year in the running for ‘Best of the Best’ award
An Edinburgh resident whose jungle-themed garden was voted the best in the UK three years ago is hoping to reign supreme once again.
Clive Johnson-Cooper wowed experts at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine back in 2023, with his garden being praised for its expertly chosen plants to create an astonishing tapestry of leaves of different sizes, shapes and textures.
And Clive is once again in the running for the title of best British garden, this time up against other previous winners to determine the ‘Best of the Best’ People’s Choice vote – a competition celebrating 10 years of the magazine’s Garden of the Year event.
The Stockbridge resident said he never thought he would win the Gardener’s World competition in 2023 due its size, but was persuaded to enter by his neighbour and a fellow volunteer at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh.
Clive said: “My friends were impressed with the planting scheme, but at the time I thought I'll just enter it and never hear anything back. When I actually got the phone call through to say I was in the final, I almost cut them off because I thought it was a scam call - I'd forgotten that I'd even entered the competition because it was months later.”
Speaking at the time he said: “It’s quite an honour to win knowing you’re up against so many other gardens. I wasn’t expecting to win because I’ve got quite a small courtyard garden and I was up against a variety gardens - some of which are quite large.”
When Clive bought his house in Circus Lane 20 years there was no garden at the property, but the keen gardener worked to make a unique oasis in the heart of the capital –transforming it into a bite sized jungle during the pandemic.
He said: “People tend to put very small pots and plants in a small space like this, but it can just end up emphasising the fact that the space is actually very small. It’s counter intuitive but using simple big plants actually gives the space a bigger feel than if you go for smaller ones.
“I never really seen anyone do a jungle garden in such a small space, they tend to be in larger gardens, and I think that was probably one of the reasons I did so well in the competition.”
The upcoming competition sees winners from the last 10 years go head to head to determine the ‘Best of the Best’ People’s Choice vote. People can vote online until 12pm on March 27, with all voters automatically entering a prize draw to win a £100 Crocus voucher.
The three gardens with the most votes will then be assessed by an expert judging panel, with the overall winner announced in October.
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