The Regional Finals
Heat winners go forward to one of eight Regional Finals held in March, where contestants will be asked a wide range of horticultural questions, some through a buzzer round, and others directed to individuals.
In addition, during the regional finals there are two identification rounds to further test the depth and breadth of knowledge, based on a range of plants as well as pests, diseases and weeds. 1st place is £150, 2nd is £100 and 3rd £75 as well as additional prizes provided by regional sponsors.
Regional Finalists 2018
Northern
1st Emily Marston
RHS Gardens Harlow Carr
Runners up
Eastern
1st Rosie Innes-Taylor
Wrest Park Bedfordshire
Runners up
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
South West
1st Sally Newbrook
RHS Rosemoor Devon
Runners up
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
South East
1st Timothy Miles
Sissinghurst Castle
Runners up
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Scotland
1st Owen Harlow
NTS Threave Garden
Runners up
West Midland & South Wales
1st Josh Egan Wyer
Manager, Pershore College’s Nursery
Runners up
2nd Becky Cross
3rd Wyl Durrant
4th Tom Goffe
5th Sebastian Conrad
6th Georgia Sellars
7th Lee Davies
8th Mathew McCallum
North West & North Wales
1st Frances Porter
Derby College’s Broomfield Hall
Runners up
2nd Frances Porter
Derby College
3rd Yvette Bell
Cholmondeley Castle
Ireland
1st Leo Walsh
National Botanic Gardens
Runners up
2nd Leo Walsh
Waterford Institute of Technology/National Botanic Gardens
3rd Rachel Cashen
Waterford Institute of Technology/National Botanic Gardens
4th Thomas Hayes
Nangle and Neisen Nursery, Co. Cork
5th Lauren Douglas
Waterford Institute of Technology/National Botanic Gardens
6th Róisín Kelly
WIT/Kildalton College, Co. Kilkenny
7th Emma McFarline
CAFRE Greenmount Campus County Antrim
8th Jordan Black
CAFRE Greenmount Campus County Antrim
Regional Final - Ireland
Pearse Museum, Haroldsgrange, Dublin, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Regional Final - South East
Brinsbury Campus, Chichester College, North Heath, Pulborough RH20 1DL, UK
Regional Final - South West
Knightshayes House, Tiverton, Bolham, EX16 7RQ
Regional Final - North West & North Wales
Derby College, Roundhouse Rd, Derby DE24 8JE, UK
Regional Final - Eastern
Easton Campus, Easton & Ottley College, Bawburgh Rd, Easton, Norwich NR9 5DX, UK
Regional Final - Northern
RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Crag Ln, Harrogate HG3 1QB, UK
Regional Final - West Midlands & South Wales
Warwickshire College, Pershore Centre, Avonbank, Pershore, Worcs, WR10 3J
Regional Final - Scotland
Threave Garden & Estate, Castle Douglas, DG7 1RX
Our 2018 Young Horticulturist of the Year national sponsors
We are indebted to all of our sponsors; our national sponsors are The Shropshire Horticultural Society, who are the major sponsors of the competition, as well as ICL, Bord Bia and the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) who all generously provide sponsorship throughout the duration of the competition. There are also many fantastically generous regional sponsors behind the scenes supporting our heats and regional finals.
2017 Winner - Lachlan Rae
This year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year competition came to an exciting end on May 6th at University Centre Shrewsbury where the final 8 competitors fought for the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world with a £2,500 bursary. The bursary is provided in honour of Percy Thrower, Britain’s first celebrity gardener, known for his work with the BBC on Gardeners world and Blue Peter. This year’s competition received over 2,500 entries from young horticulturists under the age of 30 from all over the UK and Ireland.