The Garden Media Guild Awards ‘25
Your presenter at the awards!
Well sadly Our Plant Stories didn’t win last Friday but I had a great time at the awards and I am excited that in this the third series of the podcast, we’ve been finalists in both the Independent Podcast Awards and the Garden Media Guild Awards. The Hortweek podcast: The End of Peat was the winner in our category. But hey onward and upward - maybe next year!
There was lots of strong competition in all the categories on Friday and I thought I would use this post to share with you some of the winners and runners up. There are books to read, journalists and photographers to look out for and social media accounts to follow. I’ll share them over the next couple of weeks.
Books
The Peter Seabrook Practical Book of the Year
Let’s start with the books which may be helpful if you are currently looking for some present inspiration. This first award was won by Tom Brown with The Greenhouse Book. We have this on the shelf in the Museum of Homelessness greenhouse! And the judges said that this book would be a: ‘solid addition to any gardening library’.
Also shortlisted were:
Grow Food Anywhere by Lucy Chamberlain
Nettles & Petals by Jamie Walton
Allotment Gardening by Susan Berger
RHS Grow your own veg through the year
Gardening Book of the Year
This was won by The Kindest Garden by Marian Boswall. I have linked to her website because I think that gives a sense of her philosophy and work. The judges said: “the winner stood out with its useful and sensitive approach to regenerative gardening. This book is well-laid out, logical, and manages to link garden design with science through the use of good photography and clear diagrams”.
They also said that this was a very strong field so you might want check out the other books too, so also shortlisted were:
The Accidental Seed Heroes by Adam Alexander. You can hear Adam on this episode of the podcast!
Daffodils by Naomi Slade. And if you are curious about daffodils like I was - then do listen to this episode!
Pastoral Gardens by Clare Foster
The English Landscape Garden by Tim Richardson
Feature Writers and Columnists
Three award winning writers - whose work you might want to check out.
The Roy Lancaster Features Writer of the Year
James Armitage
“With a distinctive and personable style, the winner is a leader in this very experienced and talented pool of writers. Not only is there rock-solid botanical information, but their turn of phrase and superb story telling entice the reader in from the very first sentence. Every detail, every phrase and every ounce of information are shared with warmth and passion, making reading this work a distinctive and incredibly enjoyable experience.”
Practical Journalist of the Year
Lucy Chamberlain
“The star of the Practical Journalist of 2025 shone just a little brighter. The articles were clear, concise, no waffle and beautifully presented with supporting images. The reader could grasp the information with ease. It was informative and educational with a pinch of humour. You just wanted to get into the garden and start putting all that information into practice.”
Gardening Columnist of the Year
Charlotte Harris
“…the finalists, offered fascinating insights, advice and opinions gathered from their own skills and experiences. However, the winner pipped them all to the post with a series of columns that shared their knowledge of design in an accessible way, inspiring readers and giving examples of what can work where, backed up by examples, sketches and images of real life successes. An exquisite series of articles.”
I had read Charlotte’s columns in Garden’s Illustrated and thought they were brilliant with exactly the mix described by the judges.
This week’s episode
And so to the final episode of Series 3. Remember this blog will be your exclusive view of series 4 as it begins to shape up!
But in this the last episode we return to high lines or gardens in the sky, checking in, one year on with the Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester and the proposed Camden High Line in London.
We also find out about garden twinning and if you are looking for a gift for a gardener in your life - I think this is a winner all round. I think of it as a few less pots and plants in my garden and 3 years learning and support for someone in rural Africa to grow sustainably in a changing climate. Find out how banana leaves can be a solution. The charity offering garden twinning is called Ripple Effect, formerly Send a Cow and listen to the episode to find out more.
I know we are only in November (I tell myself this) and I don’t want to stress anyone about what is just around the corner but I hope this has given you some inspiration.
Have a lovely weekend
Sally
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Special thanks to those who have supported the podcast this week with virtual coffees and by joining Plant Plugs to give a monthly coffee. No coffee will be consumed by me - it will go towards the podcast!