Society of Garden Designers Awards 2022: the winners

The Society of Garden Designers (SGD) has announced the winners at its tenth annual SGD Awards at an event in London. It celebrated inspiring projects from across the industry, with some of the biggest names in garden design present. We round up the highlights.

The Grand Award
& Best International Commercial or Community Landscape & Garden Award

Winner: Tommaso del Buono MSGD

The most prestigious award of the night, the Grand Award, as well as the Best International Commercial or Community Landscape & Garden Award, was presented to Tommaso del Buono MSGD for the gardens at the headquarters of Davines, a leading organic cosmetics company in Italy. The masterplan included the creation of a large apothecary garden, two large courtyard gardens and several ancillary areas around the headquarters. The judges declared it an "ambitious and stylish project demonstrating exceptional design and implementation" and "a gorgeous scheme in every respect".

Judges' Award
& Medium Residential Garden Award

Winner: Matthew Childs

Awards newcomer Matthew Childs was awarded both the prestigious Judges’ Award and the Medium Residential Garden Award for the Heathside Pool Garden in Surrey. Describing it as "an extraordinary garden that was full of surprises", the judges also commended the risk and imagination required by both the designer and the client, and described the planting as a "seasonal tour de force".

You can read about the garden in the October 2022 issue of Gardens Illustrated, on sale 4 October.

People’s Choice Award &
UK Commercial or Community Landscapes & Gardens Award

Winner: Ann-Marie Powell

The only award to be determined by public vote went to Ann-Marie Powell Gardens for The World Food Garden at RHS Garden Wisley. The garden was described by the judges as "a wonderfully immersive public space displaying a lovely mix of edible, annual and perennial planting designed to inspire and educate visitors."

Planting Design Award
& Garden Jewel Award

Winner: Stefano Marinaz MSGD

The judges described this exquisite London garden filled with beautiful planting as "a beautiful composition with simple, effective detailing and a choice of materials that provides unity and harmony," adding that the garden was "a great example of what a domestic residential garden should be like".

Read our full feature on this Stefano Marinaz garden.

Large Residential Garden Award

Winner: Matthew Wilson MSGD

Designer and broadcaster Matthew Wilson was praised for his wildlife-friendly family garden in Northumberland. The judges were impressed with the thoughtful integration of existing materials, original features and established plants in the garden with a planting palette that demonstrated gently blended colour combinations and textures.

Small Residential Garden Award

Winner: Tom Massey MSGD

Previous SGD Student Award winner Tom Massey was recognised for his garden in Twickenham that the judges called "an outstanding piece of design". The judges felt the garden challenged the more typical approach to a suburban sloped garden and provided something "bold, playful and very attractive".

Read our feature on Tom Massey's garden.

Big Ideas, Small Budget Award

Winner: Mandy Buckland MSGD

This quirky, multi-level garden featured a simple use of materials and a nice balance of hard landscaping and textural planting by Mandy Buckland. The judges called it "an intelligent piece of design displaying imagination and clever use of levels to create a chic, sharp outdoor room which works really well from both inside and outside the house".

International Residential Gardens & Landscapes Award
& Hardscape Design Award

Winners: Andrew Wilson FSGD and Gavin McWilliam MSGD

Andrew Wilson FSGD and Gavin McWilliam MSGD won two awards, the first for a project in Portugal and the Hardscape Design Award for a courtyard garden in London's Kensington, which the judges described as "a thoughtful and beautifully detailed composition demonstrating exceptional quality of design and execution."

Best Fresh Designer

Winner: Harry Holding

This year's 'one to watch' is designer Harry Holding, who received a Special Environmental Award in the 2021 Student Awards. The judges said The Lodge was "an accomplished garden for a designer at the beginning of his professional journey". They felt his design had turned a difficult space into "a unique and richly diverse garden that demonstrated an excellent sensitivity to the surrounding landscape and successfully enhanced the architecture of the building".

Design for the Environment Award

Winner: Kristina Clode

Following her success in the 2021 Awards, Kristina Clode returned to the awards podium to receive the with her Wildlife Friendly Eco House Garden. Her simple design resonated with the judges for its environmental credentials. They remarked on the "sympathetic use of low impact materials, which enhanced the setting and design concept" and highlighted the "sumptuous wildlife friendly planting" that Kristina used to create a series of garden spaces for both the environment and the lifestyle of the homeowners.

SGD Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Sarah Eberle

The SGD Lifetime Achievement Award – an award granted to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the landscape and garden design profession – was awarded to Sarah Eberle FSGD. SGD Co-Chair, Lynne Marcus MSGD said:

"Sarah Eberle has been passionate about landscape and garden design since she was a child and her hugely successful career has influenced and inspired many designers to enter our profession. Her love of horticulture and the natural world and her instinctive design talent has produced an impressive legacy of gardens and made her one of the most successful designers at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. As a keen communicator she is exceptionally generous with her knowledge and experience of the industry and the enjoyment she brings to supporting young designers is evident for all to see."

Find out more about the Society of Garden Designers at sgd.org.uk