Page 48 • The HERALD • 9th January 2025 v SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SPECIALISTS v DOWN THE GARDEN PATH FIRST CALL PAVING, DRIVEWAY AND LANDSCAPE SPECIALISTS Established 1999 OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: H Driveways of any sort H Bespoke Patios (Concrete/Sandstone/Porcelain) H Block Paving H Fencing/Fencing Repairs H Stump Grinding H Tree & Hedge Topping, Shaping/Removal H Pressure Washing & Gutter Cleaning H Garden Clearance H Small Demolition H Waste Clearance • No Upfront Payment • Card Payments Accepted • Fully Licensed and Insured (£5m) Waste License No: CBDU 258239 Office: 023 8122 4048 Mobile: 07597 736647 www.firstcallpavingspecialists.co.uk info@firstcallpavingspecialists.co.uk • Pruning • Shaping • Topping • Felling • Pollarding • Hedge Trimming • Stump Grinding • Garden Maintenance And much much more…. Feel free to enquire Tel: 07955 586555 office: 023 8111 2905 Email: info@directlandscapingandtree-care.co.uk www.directlandscapingandtree-care.co.uk TREE CARE Smithwood Landscaping Professional Gardening & Landscaping • Garden Redesign • Astro Turf • Trees & Shrubs Carefully Pruned • Rockeries Designed • Fencing • Ground Cover • Seasonal Tidy Ups No Job Too Small as I am a Local Gardener Any advice over the phone is freely given Contact Gary (Master Landscaper) 07707 433194 Applications Open for BBC Gardeners’ Would you like to share your garden design talent with thousands of gardening enthusiasts? Applications for the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair Beautiful Borders competition are now open. e BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair takes place at Beaulieu from 2nd to 4th May and marks the start of the new gardening season. e Beautiful Borders are compact, 9m2 show gardens, bursting with creative design features and imaginative planting. ese colourful mini masterpieces are always a popular highlight at BBC Gardeners’ World events, providing visitors with endless inspiration and take-home ideas, particularly for small or challenging garden spaces. Creating a Beautiful Border is a fantastic opportunity to gain show garden experience at a large-scale public event and to showcase your skills to a large, enthusiastic audience. Whether you’re a design or landscaping professional, a rst-time designer or student, or a gardening club, community group or charity, BBC Gardeners’ World events’ friendly and experienced horticultural team support entrants relationship with nature, education or mental wellbeing, the organisers are looking for small spaces with big impact. Entries are assessed on site by esteemed professional assessors, with medals for all and awards presented for Best Beautiful Border, Best Interpretation of the eme, and Best Subscriber Border for the best design by a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine subscriber. Event visitors have their say too, voting for their favourite Border in the Peoples’ Choice award. Lucy Tremlett, Event Director at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World events, said: “We – and our visitors - never cease to be impressed at the creativity that goes into the Beautiful Borders. The designs are not only technically brilliant with an eyecatching aesthetic, but really come from the heart, often reflecting a designer’s personal story, journey or experience. Gardens are wonderful spaces to bring human beings and nature together, so the Cultivating Connections theme should inspire some really strong entries. We can’t wait to see them!” Winners of the ‘best in show’ Beautiful Border and a Platinum award at the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair 2024 were Southampton-based garden designers Andrew Williamson and Laura Hall. eir Border, Together, was inspired by the supportive space provided for people a ected by cancer at Maggie’s Southampton. Winner of the Best BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscriber Border was Salisbury garden designer, David Long, for Memory Lane – Grandfather’s Garden, inspired by the designer’s earliest gardening memories. Best Interpretation of the eme (‘Share My Space’) was awarded to Pamela Barden from Painted Fern Garden Design in Woking for e every step of the way, from application to nal build. Twelve bursaries worth £200 each are available to Spring Fair applicants for plants and props. The creative theme for the 2025 Beautiful Borders competition is ‘Cultivating Connections’, inspired by the power of garden spaces, no matter how small, to foster meaningful connections of all kinds. Whether it’s connecting cultures, species, generations or communities, or deepening our Continued on page 49
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