Monty Don says there's never been a better year to enter our National Garden Competition - Culture

For the past 25 years the Daily Mail has held its annual garden competition. For the past 15 of those years I have written about it.

If I am honest, my advice and encouragement has altered very little over the years, and at its core will not change for the coming competition this year. But 2020 is different.

Life has changed for each and every one of us. I personally believe that we will not return to ‘normal’ and slot back into the world as we knew and lived it until March.

We are going to have to adapt in ways we are only just beginning to imagine.

British gardening expert Monty Don (pictured), reflected on the time spent in his garden during lockdown, as he encourages entrants to this year’s National Garden Competition

This need not be all bad. In fact, some really good things have come out of having our daily lives turned on their heads. For most of us it has meant we’ve spent more time in our gardens than ever before.

For me, this was the first May when I’ve spent every day at home since I was five – 60 years ago – and the first for more than 30 years when I have not spent at least ten days of the month away.

June followed the same pattern. As a result I’ve developed a new layer of intimacy with the garden that has been deeply enriching. I know many others have shared this experience.

Our gardens have become a solace and a link to the natural world to a greater degree than ever before.

This extra daily connection with our gardens coincided with glorious spring weather. April was the sunniest on record, then May had more sunshine than any calendar month since records began.

Our gardens blossomed in a manner that was a joy, day after day – at a time when joy was in very short supply.

Monty explained that the competition is open to every garden, regardless of size. Pictured: Cherry and Jeremy Hiles reached the final in 2015 with this plot

Tips for making a glorious garden

More than 30 years of having my own garden photographed and filmed have taught me the following lessons about making the most of what you have:

Whenever someone comes to Longmeadow, I, like everyone else, rush around trying to make it look as good as possible, then apologise and say they should have come last week/next week – any time but today.

This is nonsense. Of course every garden looks better on some days than others and at certain times of year, but the judges will decide based on what they see, and that is that. A good garden, however, is always good, whenever it is viewed.

Do not try to make changes at this stage. Apart from anything else, they will not have time to develop into their best. Do not attempt to grow plants you are unfamiliar with. Do not add any feature you are toying with because you think it will add value. Stick to what is tried and tested by you and focus all your experience on doing it well.
Do not try to second-guess the judges. It will not work, because not only will you not know what they like or are looking for, they do not know what they are looking for. The judges will visit every garden with an open mind and above all be impressed by individuality, effort and the shared enjoyment of a much-loved garden. The most successful gardens in the judges’ eyes will be the ones that the owners cherish, regardless of what other people think.
Do an honest assessment of the garden and do not flit over the less successful parts. Fix them and fix them now. When I visit any garden and take my first look around, it is the less successful elements that stand out. Take a cool and critical look from every viewpoint – not just the favoured bits. Sometimes it takes an outside objective eye to see this, so ask a trusted friend to be brutally honest. They will be doing you a favour.
By the same token do not agonise over perfection. A self-seeded foxglove or poppy growing out of a neatly clipped hedge can add a touch of magic rather than spoil the effect. Paving made from a rough assortment of bricks or stones might actually look much better than ones that are perfectly uniform. But you must love it and want to celebrate it.
Get the edges right – paths, lawns, hedges, borders, patios. A crisp outline will forgive something of a muddle within.
If your garden does earn a visit from the judges, do the major tidying-up, mowing, edging and primping 48 hours before they come. This will allow the garden to breathe a little and comfortably settle down. Think of it as a beautiful linen suit. It looks very smart when brand new – but looks even better when thrown on, clean and fresh but ever-so-slightly crumpled.

So, for the first time, gardens have taken on another layer of meaning and importance. They have become more than the bit beyond the house.

They offer possibilities of growing fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit, of watching fascinating wildlife of an amazing diversity, and of providing a sense of creative satisfaction.

To many of us this is nothing new. These are all reasons why we love our gardens. But rather than say, ‘I told you so,’ I am more interested in welcoming new gardeners and perhaps helping and guiding them to keep enjoying their gardens as much as possible for the rest of their lives.

I would also love some new gardeners to share their gardens with us as part of this year’s National Garden Competition.

This launches today and, subject to a few rules and obviously keeping to strict government guidelines, it is open to every gardener and garden, regardless of size, experience or type.

Monty said gardens have been a source of delight during the past months. Pictured: Malcolm Bescoby and Michael Blood won in 2016

Your garden may be simply a balcony filled with plants, a rooftop plot, or one of 20 identical spaces in a street with 20 such streets nearby. It could be surrounded by countryside, by the sea or halfway up a mountain.

All are welcome. As long as the garden has been made by you and you have no professional help maintaining it other than one part-time helper, you are eligible to enter – and win.

The judges will be assessing gardens on their own merits rather than comparing them side by side. A tiny back garden is just as likely to win as a sprawling rural one.

A patch filled with rare flowers might do very well – but is not especially favoured over a much-loved, exquisite space that uses plants bought from a garden centre or swapped with friends.

This competition is about your garden, wherever you live and whoever you are.

Whereas during the past months gardens have been a source of delight, sustenance and a vital outdoor space that we are allowed to use however we like, they have had an enforced privacy.

Monty who has had his garden photographed for more than 30 years, said he’s learned lessons to make the most of what you have. Pictured: Martin Thurston and Fabrice Aru’s plot was shortlisted in 2017

I have shared my garden with millions every week on Gardeners’ World without ever once sharing it with a member of the BBC team. It has all been done by remote control.

One of the beauties of this garden competition is that it is an opportunity to share our own pleasure in our gardens with others. It is not just about us locked away in our homes but all of us, everywhere, sharing our lovely spaces with each other.

The rules are laid out on the left, but essentially you send in photos of your garden and these will be shortlisted for the first round of visits by the judges, headed by the renowned garden designer Tim Sharples.

The really empowering thing is to share your garden not as a display of your skills as a gardener – although there’s nothing wrong with that – but as an act of sharing the pleasure it gives to you.

As well as all the rest of us admiring and learning from you – and I learn something from every single garden I see – it will undoubtedly inspire others to use and love their gardens too. Everybody wins.

Why not enter – you could win £2,000!

If you love your garden, why not share it with us? Enter The Daily Mail National Garden Competition – now in its 25th year – and you could win £2,000 in cash! Plus, our four finalists will have their garden featured in Weekend magazine and be given a special blue plaque to record their achievement.

Anyone can enter, with any garden of any size or type. So whether you have a conventional back garden with borders and beds, a rooftop full of wildflowers or a water garden of ponds and streams, this is your chance to share your skills and win this fabulous prize.

Pictured: Kath Stratton’s garden made the final in 2017

The judges will make a shortlist of gardens to visit, from which the four finalists will be selected. If the judges shortlist your garden you will be contacted by Saturday, 8 August and visits will take place between 12 and 14 August.
Four finalists will be chosen and featured in Weekend magazine later that month.
Final judging will take place from 18 to 20 August and the winner will be declared in Weekend.

HOW TO ENTER

Send your entry to National Garden Competition, PO Box 485, Fleet, GU51 9FF by 7 August and include:

1. Between four and eight photos of your garden (which cannot be returned).

2. A plan of your garden.

3. Your contact details including name, postal address, contact phone numbers (including mobile) and email address (if available).

All entrants should have designed and principally built the garden, and maintain it themselves with no more than one part-time helper. By entering the competition, gardeners should be aware their gardens may be used for promotional purposes in conjunction with the competition. Entrants must be aged 18 or over. Standard Daily Mail competition rules apply. The judges’ decision is final.
The judges’ visit will conform to the government Covid-19 guidelines at that time. If conditions preclude garden visits, other arrangements may have to be made to complete judging.