Lancashire Life and Holden Clough Nursery team up to offer a top prize of £750 of plants

John Foley knows about the joys of being a young gardener. He started when he was just a teenager, he was later named BBC Young Gardener of the Year and, at the age of 25, he runs his own nursery - Holden Clough - with his partner Kate Lawson.

Now, he wants others to share the delights of working in the great outdoors and making plants grow. When he won the BBC award he pledged to become a gardening ambassador to encourage young people.

‘Sponsoring the Lancashire Life School Garden of the Year award seemed like the ideal way,’ he said.

‘The judges at the BBC asked us where horticulture will be in the future. I said I wanted more young people involved. Lots of people grow their own vegetables but when it comes to nurserymen and women there aren’t anywhere near enough of them.’

John believes that far too few youngsters are being given the opportunity to consider horticulture as a career choice.

‘There could be a shortage in the future and I don’t want that to happen. We want to get the younger generations excited and enthusiastic about gardening.’

John has had a high profile since his win and he and Kate are regularly seen at shows, often picking up top awards. He will also be recognisable to many youngsters as he was involved in the creation of the Blue Peter garden when it was moved from London to Salford’s Media City.

Gardening has been a passion for John since he was a boy. ‘I was only 13 and I decided to grow 150 different crocosmias. I absolutely loved it. There weren’t many other lads doing that!’

Proud sponsors

Holden Clough was established in 1927 by Richard Milne-Redhead and it became renown as one of the UK’s top alpine nurseries.

Today, under John and Kate’s guidance, the Bolton-by-Bowland nursery provides a much larger range of plants against a stunning backdrop of lovely Lancashire countryside.

They have transformed the nursery with new tearooms, carpark and beds containing thousands of plant. It’s remote location means they have a saying – ‘If it will grow at Holden Clough, it will grow anywhere!’

Holden Clough Nursery, Holden, Bolton-by-Bowland, Lancashire. BB7 4PF. Tel: 01200 447 615

How to enter

School Garden of the Year

This is open to any school within our circulation area that has demonstrated a real passion for gardening. It might be a school which has started growing plants or pupils and teachers who have created a garden from waste land. They may have come up with an innovative way of teaching children about the environment.

The closing date is August 13, 2013.

By that date you need to have completed this form:

Name of School:

Address:

Contact name:

Contact telephone numbers:

Attach it to a document outlining in no more than 500 words why you should be considered for the School Garden of the Year. (If you don’t want to cut the magazine, you can download it from www.lancashire.greatbritishlife.co.uk)

You need to accompany it with as many illustrations, plans or photographs as possible. Send it to Garden of the Year, Lancashire Life, Cinnamon House, Cinnamon Park, Crab Lane, Fearnhead, Warrington, WA2 0XP.

Please note they are not returnable and, if successful, they may be published in the magazine and on our website. We aim to publish the winners in our November issue.

Judging

A panel of independent judges, including John Foley and Lancashire Life, will select the winner. Their decision will be final