The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) celebrated the 2026 APL Award winners during an event on Friday 13 March with over 600 members of the landscaping and garden design industry.
Created by the Horticultural Trades Association, this year’s awards were the biggest to date, hosted by garden designer Peter Donegan and APL general manager Phil Tremayne for the second year.
Darren Hawkes, award-winning garden designer, delivered a key-note speech, running through his career from actor to designing gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Tremayne says:
“The APL Awards are the highlight of my year, where I get to join my colleagues in celebrating the outstanding achievements in landscape design and recognise the talented landscapers and garden designers in our membership whose creativity and skill transform gardens across the UK.”
The judging panel evaluated 125 finalists across 22 categories, chaired by Bob Sweet from BBC Gardeners’ World Live.
In total 27 awards were taken home, with Landform Consultants taking home the Supreme Winner title for Berkshire Garden.
The winners are as follows:
The Landform Matthew Bradley Memorial Cup
Els Tisserand
Project Value under £20,000
The Botanical Gardener with Firth Gardens
Project Value £20,000 – £35,000
Habitat Landscapes with Old Priory House
Project Value £35,000 – £50,000
Roger Gladwell Landscapes with Curvey Garden
Project Value £50,000 – £65,000
Landcraft Landscape & Design with St Anns Villas
Project Value £65,000 – £80,000
J & S Scapes with Meadow Way
Project Value £80,000 – £100,000
Surrey Hills Landscapes with Treetops
Project Value £100,000 – £175,000
Shirescapes Ltd with Oxfordshire Family Garden
Project Value £175,000 – £250,000
WW Landscapes Ltd with Ashurst House
Project Value over £250,000
Landform Consultants Ltd with Berkshire Garden
Soft Landscaping
Raine Garden Design with the Perennial Country Garden
Hard Landscaping
Nordland Landscapes with Meridian Cottage
Overall Design and Build
Landform Consultants Ltd with Frensham New Build
Commercial Garden
Landform Consultants Ltd with Shoe Lane
Maintenance
Creative Landscape Company Ltd with Riverside property in Berkshire
Biodiversity & Sustainability
J & S Scapes with Radnage
Decking Feature
Kingfisher Decking Ltd with Woodstock
Swimming pools (Natural and Inground)
Ellicar with Contemporary Circular Natural Pool, Marlow
Outdoor Living
Designscape with Beneath the Palms
Waterfalls and pond features
Habitat Landscapes Ltd with Two Waters
APL Collaboration
Tina Vallis Design and Frogheath Landscapes with Driveway to garden transformation
Celebrating people, place and nature, the awards offer an opportunity to enter a project to be recognised.
Carolin Göhler, president of the LI, says the awards “honour the very best our profession has to offer, demonstrating how landscape can transform places into sustainable, inclusive and resilient environments where both people and nature can flourish”.
Judged across 18 categories, the awards ceremony will take place on 13 November 2026 at The Brewery in London.
Submissions are open until 24 May 2026, with early-bird entry currently available.
Caribbean Blinds has announced its success at the 2026 BBSA Excellence Awards after being shortlisted in all five categories it entered.
The awards recognise the quality innovation and best practice for solar shading, blinds and control systems, organised by the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA).
The five shortlisted Caribbean Blinds entries span product development, installation excellence, marketing, showroom design and collaborative working.
The company is also recognised for two technically demanding external shading installations, both delivered as part of larger residential projects.
Stuart Dantzic, managing director of Caribbean Blinds says “to be shortlisted in every category we entered is something the whole team is proud of.”
Winners will be announced at the BBSA Awards Gala on 7 March 2026.
In its tenth year, World Landscape Architecture (WLA) opens the 2026 WLA Awards for entries.
The international award programme honours work by landscape architects across the world for innovation, sustainability and transformative spaces.
Judged across 16 categories, both built and conceptual projects can be entered by landscape architects, urban designers, landscape architecture firms and other organisations.
Registrations opened on 13 January 2026 and will close on 24 April 2026.
Over the last year, Pro Landscaper has celebrated numerous awards, been invited to several exciting events, as well as hosting the second Pro Landscaper on Tour.
Here are the team’s top 10 highlights:
Pro Landscaper on Tour with Boom & Bonheur
In September, Pro Landscaper hosted its second trip on tour, this time with Boom & Bonheur for a behind the scenes journey across its tree nurseries in Germany and The Netherlands. A cohort of select landscapes and garden designers accompanied the team to learn about the nursery’s 1,500 varieties of trees, its machinery and its background.
From feature gardens to borders, each show celebrated its designers and landscapers after months of hard work.
The biggest Royal Horticultural Society show of the year, RHS Chelsea Flower Show celebrated gardens battling HIV stigma, feminism and climate change fears.
Launch of two Most Influential awards
The first of its kind, Pro Landscaper’s Most Influential awards celebrated the nation’s best stone suppliers and nurseries.
From sangrias to tapas, Husqvarna had more than just Spanish cuisine to keep the guests happy. Under the autumn sun, 120 guests from 23 countries gathered at La Lltja de Mar, a 14th century building fit with a courtyard readying to hear from inspirational voices across the industry. Highlights included speeches from Liverpool Football Club on its sustainability achievements, a dive into Barcelona’s nature plan and Husqvarna’s new product launches.
Team at Perennial Dig Deep Lunch
In support of Perennial, the Dig Deep Fundraising Lunch at The Cumberland in London took place in October.
The lunch celebrated eight supporters helping people across the horticultural industry, raising £36,500.
Mark Gregory, Kingston Landscape Group and Stihl were amongst those awarded with Perennial’s Silver Shovel Spotlight Awards.
BD landscape architects book launch and Cardinal Place tour
Marking 15 years of BD landscape architects and the launch of its new book, the firm invited the team to the autumn social in Victoria, London in October.
Paired with a tour of recently transformed and award-winning Cardinal Place, the firm explained its regeneration plans which included the design of a welcoming, bold and biophilic public space.
Landscape as a Catalyst for Change dives into BD’s projects, as well as hearing from director Rob Beswick.
Nina Mason on Inside the Green Room live
Content director Nina Mason joined Marc Lane and Justin Himpson on Inside The Green Room’s Instagram live in September. Discussing all things landscaping awards, Mason explained how entering your company into landscaping awards is more than just a trophy – it can be pivotal for your brand and team.
Pro Landscaper and FutureScape Golf Challenge
Pro Landscaper and FutureScape hosted its Golf Challenge 2025 at Goodwood Estate on Thursday 12 June with Wildflower Turf driving it home and picking up first place.
The day was a great opportunity for industry professionals to network over a shared love for golf and a healthy dose of friendly competition.
A toast to Pro Landscaper team
On a sunny Friday afternoon in August, the Pro Landscaper team swapped meetings for mimosas alongside a delicious brunch in Arundel. From editorial and sales, to design and marketing, the team gathered for some time-off in celebration of the year’s achievements.
Pro Landscaper Summer Spectacular
On one of the hottest days of the year, Pro Landscaper hosted its first Summer Spectacular at the De Vere Horsley Estate in Surrey.
It kicked off with the Summer Showcase, celebrating 30 years of the Association of Professional Landscapers, in association with Deponti. The outdoor festival on Friday 11 July brought together contractors, designers and the supply chain for a series of fun games and activities, including a hotly contested tug of war.
This was followed by the annual Pro Landscaper Project Awards, in association with Hortus Loci Landscapes, hosted by award-winning comedian Thanyia Moore. A Moroccan-themed Summer Party celebrating 30 years of the APL, in association with Landscapeplus, closed the night.
Founded by the Canadian Urban Institute in 2001, the Brownie Awards crown its 2025 winners.
Presented in partnership by the Canadian Brownfields Network and Actual Media, the annual awards recognise excellence in the remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites across Canada.
Across eleven categories, projects are judged by innovative efforts of professionals who rehabilitate sites that were once contaminated, under-utilised and undeveloped by remaking them into productive residential and commercial projects.
Winning projects include best small project at University of Ottawa, with best large project awarded to Galleria on the Park in Toronto whilst Biidaasige Park in Toronto was crowned best overall project.
Brownfielder of the year was given to Joe Chowaniec for his dedication to the environmental services and fundraising efforts.
Applications are now open for the 2026 Pro Landscaper Business Awards, with winners set to be announced at a ceremony in London.
Now in its ninth year, the Pro Landscaper Business Awards are continually evolving to represent the very best of the industry.
With that growth in mind, the 2026 awards now boast 20 categories, three of which are new to the line up:
Business Leader, introduced as a way to recognise the individuals driving the success of their companies.
Garden Designer; formed to celebrate and recognise garden designers running their own successful businesses.
Landscaping Champion; created as a way to celebrate the individuals helping showcase the value of the sector.
This category will be open to nominations and can include industry personalities, politicians, industry leaders and social media voices to name a few. The shortlist for Landscaping Champion will then be put to an industry vote.
Other changes to the 2026 Pro Landscaper Business Awards include the evolution of the Employer of the Year, for which the criteria now recognises the industry’s ambition to encourage diversity within its ranks.
The Business Investment or Acquisition category has also had a refresh; now inviting applications from management buyouts and Employee Ownership Trusts that are having a transformative impact on businesses.
Formerly Garden Design Company, the category has evolved into Garden Design Studio, directed at studios with a directly employed team of multiple designers.
Eljays44 divisional director, David Griffiths comments on the launch, saying:
“These awards are unique and so important in celebrating the consistent and exceptional business success that has been delivered. They provide an opportunity for owners and their teams to ensure the incredible efforts are given the opportunity to be recognised which can then help power further growth.”
The full list of categories is as follows:
Arboriculture Company In partnership with Beechwood Trees & Landscapes
Business Investment or Acquisition
Business Leader
Commercial Landscape Company In partnership with Green-tech
Design and Build Company
Employer of the Year In partnership with Fresh Horticultural Careers
Garden Design Studio In partnership with Millboard
Garden Designer
Grounds Maintenance Company In partnership with Forst
Industry Collaboration
Landscape Architecture Studio In partnership with Boom & Bonheur
Landscaping Champion
Landscape Company Under £750k Turnover
Landscape Company £750k – £2m Turnover
Landscape Company £2m – £5m Turnover In partnership with Bourne Amenity
Landscape Company Over £5m Turnover
New Company (Under Two Years Old)
Supplier and Service Provider
Sustainable Company of the Year
Trade Nursery of the Year In partnership with APL
The Pro Landscaper Business Awards will take place on Friday 24 April 2026 at Old Billingsgate in London.
There is also an early bird offering, which means entrants can save £70 per category if they confirm and pay before 28 November. Enter here.
The Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Biodiversity Awards in association with Hortus Loci Landscapes have been celebrated this evening at Excel London as the winners are revealed.
Judged across 12 categories, the awards recognise the companies pushing for a more sustainable future within the industry for its third year.
For the third year, the awards “celebrate and recognise the leadership role that our sector is playing in meeting climate goals that will deliver a more sustainable future for our planet,” says David Griffiths, divisional director of 44Group. He adds:
“Congratulations to our winners, you have beaten some stiff competition and in doing so helped to demonstrate the value of our sector. Thank you to our event partners for their support, our great panel of judges, our host for the night Jon Berry and all those that attended to celebrate with us.”
The winners are as follows:
Arboriculture Company In partnership with Pro Arb
Beechwood Trees and Landscapes Ltd
Commercial Build Project In partnership with Bury Hill
Bradford City Centre Gavin Jones
Highly Commended: Westminster City School, Bowles & Wyer
Commercial Design Project In partnership with Boom & Bonheur
Priors Hall Park Village Green Urban & Civic
Grounds Maintenance Company In partnership with Apex Soil Solutions
Nurture Landscapes Ltd
Landscape Architecture Studio In partnership with Wildflower Turf
Macfarlane + Associates
Garden Design Company In partnership with Hortus Loci Landscapes
Harry Holding Studio
Landscaping Company In partnership with Wyevale Nurseries
Quality & Service Ltd (Q&S)
Local Authority or Council In partnership with Nurture Group
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Highly Commended: Nottingham City Council
Maintenance Contract In partnership with Hortus Loci Landscapes
Chiswick Park Enjoy-Work Nurture Landscapes Ltd
Supplier or Service Provider In partnership with Gavin Jones
Long Rake Spar
Sustainability & Biodiversity Leader In partnership with Tyler Grange
Lucy Fisher, operations director idverde UK
Sustainable Product In partnership with FutureScape
In celebration of the UK’s ornamental growers, the awards recognise excellence, innovation and achievement in the environmental horticultural industry.
The celebratory dinner and awards ceremony took place following Horticulture, the Conference, which was held in the Garden Room of the Barbican Centre in London last week.
Presented across six categories, 12 awards were given. The top winners of the evening were Hillier Nurseries, which took home the Blooming Marvellous Employer, Life Beyond Peat and Plant Producer awards; and Greenwood Plants, which won the Inspirational Business award.
Individuals within the sector were also recognised, including Jane Poyner from Majestic Trees, who received Best Staff Member award whilst the Young Grower under 35 award was given to Thomas Smith, also from Majestic Trees.
Steve McCurdy, managing director of Majestic Trees says it is an “honour to be recognised,” and goes on to explain: “we have been honoured with numerous awards including 4 UK Grower of the Year awards since 2008, but this year’s awards was all about two of our outstanding team members. In fact, the strength of our team has been recognised every year, with a number of our team winning previous UK Young Grower of the Year or Staff awards”.
Pippa Greenwood, horticulture manager at the HTA explains the awards saw an increase in nominations this year, with a “phenomenally high standard,” adding:
“The way these businesses look after their employees is also truly humbling. The standard of entries for the Best Staff Member award demonstrates just how important staff are to the industry and the businesses themselves.”
The six other awards were given to highly commended companies and individuals, including Alba Trees and The Bransford Webbs Plant Company.
Since August, readers have been nominating and voting for their favourite stone suppliers across seven categories including Most Influential Stone Leader of the Year.
The awards were created to recognise the stone suppliers within the industry.
The winners of Pro Landscaper’s Most Influential Stone Suppliers, as voted by our readers, are as follows:
Best Value The Stonemart
Best Customer Service Bradstone
Best British Stone Supplier London Stone
Best Product Range Brett Landscaping
Sustainability Tectonix
Ethical Sourcing London Stone
Most Influential Stone Leader Giles Heap, CED Stone
The winners will collect their awards during StoneScape, alongside FutureScape, at Excel London.
Lantra and Landex have extended the nomination deadline for the Land-Based and Environment Learner (LBEL) Awards.
Earlier this year, the LBEL Awards opened for nominations, celebrating achievements across the sector. This annual event is coordinated by the accreditation body, Lantra, and the ‘Land Based Colleges and Universities Aspiring to Excellence’ organisation, Landex.
On 27 November, the National Conference Centre in Solihull will host this year’s awards ceremony. The event will recognise learners, apprentices and researchers in fields ranging from horticulture and arboriculture to veterinary nursing, landscape and environmental conservation.
The organisers have decided, due to a record number of nominations, to extend the nomination deadline to 11:59 pm on Sunday 22 June.
From private trainers to university programs, the ceremony in November will honour top performers at every level, including apprenticeships (Levels 2-3) and higher education (Levels 4-7). Postgraduate students will also have a dedicated Master’s and Doctoral category. There will be additional overall awards for: Research Student of the Year, Apprentice of the Year, Overall Winner and Runners Up.
Though beyond celebrating individual students’ achievements, the LBEL Awards hope to attract new talent into the land-based and environmental sectors.
Head of communications at Lantra, Clegg Bamber, says: “The purpose of the LBEL Awards is to shine a spotlight on the brilliant talent and dedication of those in the land-based and environment sector. We have seen some brilliant nominations so far, and recognising this time of year where colleges, training providers and employers are busy with assessments and preparing students for exams.
“Lantra and Landex are extending the nominations deadline to ensure everyone has enough time to submit good quality nominations, ensuring learners and apprentices are recognised for their efforts and commitment to their studies.”
Nominations can be submitted online via Lantra’s website, as the quicker, more sustainable option. Alternatively, paper forms can be requested by emailing lbels@lantra.co.uk.
Pro Landscaper has revealed the shortlist for its Project Awards, in association with Provender Nurseries.
The Pro Landscaper Project Awards celebrate landscaping projects with a value under £50k, giving companies within the sector the opportunity to showcase the remarkable feats achievable on smaller budgets.
More than 60 projects have been shortlisted across the 10 categories, with the winners and this year’s Supreme Winner to be announced at a ceremony at FutureScape on Tuesday 21 November, at London’s ExCeL.
“It’s been a record year again for entries, and what’s been really good to see is the number of new businesses putting themselves forward,” says Eljays44’s divisional director, David Griffiths. “The quality of entries has been incredible, with some amazing examples of projects that have been delivered within the £50k cap demonstrating the technical ability and problem-solving skills of our sector.
“It’s going to be incredibly hard for our great panel of judges, so we look forward to the awards ceremony in November to celebrate with finalists and announce the winners of each category.”
The complete shortlist is as follows:
Design Under £50,000
A Japanese-Inspired Garden Adam Vetere Landscape & Garden Design
6 Hawthorn Street Blue Tulip Garden Design
Sweeters Field Chiltern Garden Design
Inside Outside Garden Design Decorbuddi Garden Design – Jo Connolly
A Calm Retreat Gardenologie
Rockbed Julia Keem Garden Design
Naturalistic Wildlife Courtyard Kathryn Cox Garden Design Studio
Barn Courtyard Garden Nancy Rodgers Garden Design
Golborne Garden Topia Garden Design
Build Under £50,000
In association with Adtrak
Congleton Project 365Landscaping
An Englishman’s Home is His Castle Avery Landscapes Ltd
Nathan Webster has been awarded a hat-trick of awards for his Off the Grid Garden, including the Best Young Designer Garden award at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2023.
His woodland design exhibits how an individual can live self-sustainably within nature, featuring beds of edibles, fire pit cooking station and an outdoor shower.
The RHS Young Designer of the Year category has been a feature at Tatton Park since 2009, open to entrants aged 28 and younger, to help create a stepping-stone into the garden design and landscaping sectors for the younger generation.
This year’s Young Designer winner, Nathan Webster says: “Throughout the years of the young designer competition being run, the standards have improved significantly. To be a part of this category is a massive achievement and will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
Webster’s garden, built by Wright Landscapes centres around a contemporary lodge, juxtaposed to the limited forest planting tones of foxgloves and ferns, with a rural path connecting the features representative of a forest clearing beneath an airy canopy of conifers.
Webster says: “Even before I became a landscape architect, I had a passion for nature and the outdoors. From my experience in 2015 creating a Back to Back Garden, I have aspired to design my own garden and influence garden enthusiasts whilst showcasing my designs.
“The main feature of the design is upcycling and reusing materials, something that can be implemented in any garden, and using an existing environment to its full potential, highlighting the benefits of adapted living.”
Webster’s Off the Grid Garden has also been award Best Construction (Young Designer Garden) and a Gold medal, with the People’s Choice awards yet to be announced until Friday at 4pm.
The RHS Flower Show Tatton Park is underway this week. With more categories for 2023, this year’s medal winners have been announced.
Constructing Minds
Best Show Garden I Silver Gilt Medal
Designed by Carolyn Harden and Jon Jarvis and built by The Landscape Academy, the Constructing Minds Garden raises awareness of suicide rates in the construction sector, the highest among all industries.
Designed to offer a calm and secluded space to help those struggling with ill mental health, the wildflower meadow is inspired by the Japanese practise of shinrin-yoku (‘forest bathing’), the belief that immersing in nature can have revitalising benefits.
Harden and Jarvis say: “Research shows that regular access to green spaces can benefit mental health, and we have designed a calming space that we hope may help support those in suicidal crisis.”
Photo credit to the RHS.
Parker’s Chained to Tech Garden
Best Construction (Show Garden) I Silver Gild Medal
The garden, designed by Pro Landscaper’s 30 Under 30 winner, Rachel Platt addresses the increasing prevalence of screen-based technology addiction among the younger generation, in correlation with the garden’s sponsor J.Parker’s current research project of the same subject, in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University.
The gardens bold colour planting represents the visual vibrancy of screen-based technology, designed to create ‘instant gratification and the feeling of euphoria that using technology provides.’
Parker’s Chained to Tech Garden was built by Everest Garden Landscapes.
Off the Grid
Best Young Designer Garden I Best Construction (Young Designer Garden) I Gold Medal winner
Designed by Nathan Webster, Off the Grid showcases naturalistic living in a forest setting, underlining the self-sustainable benefits available in nature.
The limited woodland planting tones and tall pine and birch trees create a rural and realistic forest space, juxtaposed by the modern structural design of the lodge.
The garden was built by Wright Landscapes.
Brickyard
Best Terrace and Slim Space Garden I Gold medal winner
Inspired by the traditional northern city brickwork, the Brickyard Garden designed by Conal Studio exhibits how historic spaces can become accessible to modern life and nature.
The gardens planting is a mix of contained foliage and wild flora thriving against the backdrop of traditional red bricks, highlighting nature’s capability to grow in diverse terrain and environments.
Brickyard was built by Acorn Landscape Services.
RHS Tatton is open until 23 July, for more RHS news, see here:
A record number of 2,216 parks and green spaces throughout the UK have been awarded the Green Flag Award, the largest number since the scheme’s inception in 1996.
The international accreditation acknowledges and rewards well managed parks and green spaces, recognising the benchmark standard of recreational outdoor spaces, in the UK and around the world.
Since the accreditations inception 27 year ago, four parks have been received the Green Flag award annually, these are Cockington Country Park, Worden Park, Queen’s Park and Highgate Wood.
In alignment with the Green Flag Award, 135 winners also received a Green Heritage Site Accreditation, awarded in recognition of the management and preservation of the historic value and features on site, supported in England by Historic England. These include Rivington Terrace Gardens managed by Riving Heritage Trust with Groundwork and St James’s Park, managed by Southampton City Council.
Two NHS Trust hospitals, Doncaster and Bassetlaw have been awarded Green Flag Awards, recognising the health benefits of green spaces to staff, patients and visitors. It is estimated that £2bn are avoided in ill-health costs every year due to active park visits in England.
Green Flag Award Scheme manager Paul Todd MBE says: “All our winners provide vital green space for communities, bring people together and create opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles. The staff and volunteers do so much to ensure these precious parks and green spaces maintain the high standards of the Green Flag Award and everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement.”
