Grove Park Front Gardens Award Winners Announced |
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26 households entered this year's competition
July 20, 2026 The judging is complete, the scores are in, and Grove Park has crowned its most impressive front gardens of 2026. After 36 households entered this year’s competition, residents have been celebrating a burst of colour, creativity and wildlife friendly planting across the neighbourhood. Judges braved a blisteringly hot weekend to visit every garden in a single day, assessing each against strict criteria including first impression, kerb appeal, design, plant mix, plant health and overall maintenance. Wildlife and sustainability were judged separately. Their final decisions were far from easy — but four gardens ultimately stood out. The winners are: Gold: 15 Chiswick Quay The prizes were donated by the Chiswick Flower Market, the Chiswick Horticultural and Allotments Society (CHAS) and WildChiswick. The gold winner receives £100 in Chiswick Flower Market vouchers and £25 to spend at the CHAS Trading Hut. Silver and bronze winners receive £75 and £50 Flower Market vouchers respectively, plus £25 CHAS vouchers each. The wildlife friendly winner receives three bags of compost from CHAS and a bat box donated by WildChiswick.
The judging panel included Stephen Nutt of Chiswick Flower Market, Jo Gilbert of WildChiswick and Kathleen Mitra of the CFM for the initial round, joined by Dennis Flaherty of CHAS and Dawn Wilson — designer of the competition’s entry signs — for the final run through.
Stephen Nutt praised the standard of entries and the value of the competition for the wider neighbourhood. “Front gardens are too often overlooked or paved over, so any initiative that encourages people to create attractive, welcoming and wildlife friendly spaces is well worth supporting,” he said. “All 36 entered gardens were judged against the same criteria… Choosing the winners proved far more difficult than we had imagined.” He highlighted the winning garden at Chiswick Quay for its superb use of a relatively small space, creative planting and year round interest. “Beautiful from both the street and the home, its planting creates a warm and very inviting approach to the front door.”
WildChiswick’s Jo Gilbert, who judged the wildlife category, said she was delighted to see so many front gardens offering habitats for wildlife. She selected 51 Wolseley Road as the winner for its diverse pollinator friendly planting, mature wisterias providing food and shelter, shaded areas valuable in hot weather, and thoughtful features including a water source, decorative metal flowers, ground cover, bare soil, a log pile and a hedgehog house. “This small garden manages to provide good habitat for wildlife… places for wildlife to feed, rest and nest, whatever the season.” The Grove Park Group thanked all entrants for helping make the neighbourhood greener, more colourful and more welcoming. As Stephen put it, “Front gardens don’t just enhance individual homes — they enrich the whole neighbourhood and are a pleasure for everyone who passes by.”
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