Hardscape was a proud sponsor of the hardscape category award which was won by Ian Kitson for his Estuary Garden project. The judges commented: “Bold, ambitious and beautifully constructed, the garden ticks all the hardscape boxes. Beautiful, curved retaining walls and hard detailing demonstrate the greatest degree of difficulty, beautifully executed.” The award was presented by Hardscape Marketing Manager, Dave Butler.
Other special awards given on the night included the SGD Lifetime Achievement Award – an award granted to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the landscape and garden design profession. The Award, which is gifted by the Council of the Society of Garden Designers, was given to international landscape designer and philosopher Fernando Caruncho.
The SGD Council said: “Since the creation of his first garden in the early 1980s Fernando Caruncho has designed timeless gardens both in Spain and internationally with a simplicity and lightness of touch using geometry, light, water and connection to the wider environment at the heart of his projects. Fernando is an inspirational philosopher, landscape architect and gardener who continues to inspire with his philosophical approach to garden creation and the SGD is delighted to present him with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
In other categories, Carolyn Willitts won the Paper Landscapes Award and Fiona Stephenson MSGD won the People’s Choice Award – the only award in the competition determined by public vote.
The Grand Award, the most celebrated award of the evening, went to Robert Myers for a contemporary playscape created for the Historic Royal Palace at Hampton Court. The garden, designed as an imaginative and playful new garden for families and inspired by the rich history of the palace, was described as ‘truly magical’ by the judging panel, who called the design ‘ambitious, innovative and cohesive’ and said it was ‘full of surprises and fun.’ The garden was also named best Public or Commercial Outdoor Space, with the judges describing it as an ‘exciting, generous and inspirational project’.
