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Pocket Garden Winners Announced

11 July 2022

As the Pocket Garden Competition draws to a close for another year, we look at the amazing gardens that won the final part of the competition and celebrate all those who entered.

It began back in February, with 340 amazing designs coming in from school and nursery pupils across Scotland. In the 2022 Year of Stories, each design told its own story, as well as incorporating edible plants and habitats for wildlife. The judges were blown away by the quality of the entries and had the very difficult task of picking the winners.

In the end, 45 designs were chosen to go forward to our online showcase. Schools spent the next few months constructing, planting and nurturing their gardens, having a lot of fun and learning loads along the way. In June, the Pocket Garden online showcase opened, displaying photos and stories from the winning gardens. The public were able to enjoy the beauty of these amazing gardens and vote for their favourites. At the same time, our judges had another difficult time, deciding which gardens to award additional Certificates of Achievement.

In the end, the public chose ‘Amber in Wonderland’ from Moore House Academy in West Lothian as the best Pocket Garden. This incredible garden was designed and built by pupils in memory of their friend Amber and features a water fountain, designed and built by Amber herself. The garden is full of joy and colour.

Second place in the showcase vote went to ‘Our Story: Room 1’ from Anna Ritchie School in Aberdeenshire for their story garden represented in several different upcycled planters decorated with scraps of donated quilting material.

Third place went to ‘The Tale of Red the Redwing’ from Garrowhill Primary School in Glasgow based on the story The Tale of Red the Redwing, about a Redwing which cannot fly, written and illustrated by pupils and based on Beatrix Potter's stories.

In keeping with themes of the Pocket Garden competition, our judges awarded best storytelling garden to ‘Eilean Fraoich’ from Sgoil an Rubha in Eilean Siar, which tells the story of their island home, the Isle of Lewis, including barbies crofting in the Machair landscape.

‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’ from Banchory Academy in Aberdeenshire was awarded best One Planet Picnic for their fun design that is packed full of tasty treats, including in their zipline basket.

Best Wildlife Gardening went to ‘Fantastic BEES and Where to Find Them’ from Small Isles Primary in Argyll and Bute, featuring a Bee Hotel and pollinator friendly plants.

We had an exceptional quality of entries this year, so our judges decided to award additional Certificates of Achievement to five schools for their success in translating their designs into reality. The winners were: ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ from Grove Academy in Dundee, ‘Harry’s Herbology Haven’ from Insch Primary School in Aberdeenshire, ‘The Secret Garden’ from Lockhart Campus in North Ayrshire, ‘Fairy Garden’ from Oakgrove Primary School in Glasgow and ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch Garden’ from Ralston Primary School in Renfrewshire.

Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who entered the competition for using your energy and creativity to design fantastic gardens.

A special thank you to our external judges Anthony McCluskey, Chair of the Garden for Life Forum and Ella McLellan, Regional Outreach Coordinator for Scottish Book Trust for helping us with the very difficult job of selecting the winning gardens. Extra thanks to Ella and Scottish Book Trust for donating books as prizes for the top three showcase vote winners and the three theme winners.

If you have been inspired by these amazing Pocket Gardens, you can create your own Pocket Garden at home. Don't forget, your school or nursery can take part in next year's competition. Keep an eye on the Pocket Garden homepage for details.

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