Best Beautiful Border win for Bishop’s Stortford designer at BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair

Charlotte Hugh from Bishop’s Stortford has scooped a trio of honours at the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, taking place this weekend (29 – 31 August) at English Heritage’s Audley End House and Gardens, Saffron Walden. Charlotte is the winner of Best Beautiful Border, Best BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscriber Border and a Platinum award.  

The Beautiful Borders are always a popular feature at BBC Gardeners’ World events, packed with creative ideas for small spaces and tricky places. There’s a new Border theme each year to inspire designers with their creations, and this year’s is ‘Cultivating Connections’. For many of the Beautiful Border entrants, this was their first step into show garden design.

Charlotte’s Border, Conversation in Bloom, is an inviting space for connections to blossom amongst nature. The garden welcomes visitors to take a seat, letting nature be the spark for meaningful conversations.

Charlotte says: “We know spending time in nature can have a profound impact on our social skills. It allows us to be more present, listen more clearly, and become more attuned to our emotions. This Border aims to provide the perfect environment to cultivate connections, old and new – and you might just meet a butterfly, bee, or ladybird too.”

Charlotte and her husband Ben caught the gardening bug when transforming the ‘blank canvas’ back garden of their new-build home into a cottage garden. They documented the process from start to finish on their social media, and the garden even featured on an episode of BBC Gardeners’ World.

On winning the Best Beautiful Border award, Charlotte said: “I’m overwhelmed, but incredibly proud of the garden. I’ve attended the Autumn Fair ever since it started and always dreamt of exhibiting one day. To come away with such fantastic feedback was wonderful. It’s been an amazing experience and I’ve met so many fantastic people, this is just the start … I hope.”

The assessors for the Autumn Fair’s Beautiful Borders were gardening editor, horticulturalist and journalist, Ian Hodgson, and multi award-winning garden designers, Cherry Carmen and Mike Baldwin. Mike Baldwin was a lecturer in horticulture and landscaping at Derby College for 36 years and has created more than 70 community projects and 30 national show gardens. Mike received a Lifetime Achievement Award at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2024 for his exceptional contribution to horticulture.

Head assessor Ian Hodgson said: “This was a potent interpretation of the theme of Cultivating Connections. The artfully crafted seating and exquisite, delicate planting invited conversation between all who would use the garden.”

Emily Passmore, a Senior Kitchen Gardener from Audley End House and Gardens, won Best Interpretation of the Theme and a Gold award for herBorder, The Interwoven Garden. The Border is a celebration of the human relationship with plants and how people have used plants for thousands of years, for instance in heritage crafts. East Anglia has a long weaving tradition, and the garden features ornamental displays of plants commonly used for weaving and creating natural dyes, such as willow, Salix and Rubus. Crafted items including a woven bird feeder, hedgehog house, bench and fence will be incorporated in the design. Most of the plants in this Beautiful Border will be reused afterwards in the Audley End gardens.

Emily said: “My aim is to inspire visitors with a beautiful garden that is rich in biodiversity and history. Alongside the ornamental plants are native plants like nettles, stinking iris and brambles. While these may be plants that many gardeners want to remove, I’m including them in my design to highlight their value for nature and people. Nettles, for instance, are not only a food to harvest but have been used to create fibres and as a natural dye, as well as being an important food source for butterflies.”

Head assessor Ian Hodgson called the Border “a gorgeously crafted and intimate space, showcasing artisanal weaving and use of dye plants. Emily crafted all the woven features by hand.”

Receiving her award, Emily said: “I was shocked and excited to win the Best Interpretation award. It was very unexpected and I’m delighted. The standard is so high so it feels like a real achievement.”

BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair visitors can vote for their own favourite Beautiful Border using QR codes located around the event. The People’s Choice award will be announced on Sunday afternoon.

Lucy Tremlett, Event Director at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World events, said: “The Beautiful Borders are always a horticultural highlight and a hotbed of creativity at the Autumn Fair. We really enjoy seeing visitors chatting to the designers about the inspiring stories behind their gardens and admiring the eye-catching plants and colour palettes they choose. Every designer had their own individual interpretation of the Cultivating Connections theme, and it’s wonderful to see Charlotte and Emily recognised for their brilliant designs and hard work. Autumn Fair visitors are sure to be re-creating elements of these lovely gardens at home.”

The BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair offers garden inspiration, achievable ideas to take home, and plants for every type of garden. Whether you’re a gardening beginner, an expert grower, or just enjoy a day out in the great outdoors, there’s something for everyone. Highlights include stunning Showcase Gardens, Beautiful Borders and plant displays, stages featuring expert advice and talks, and BBC Gardeners’ World presenters Adam Frost, Arit Anderson, Rachel de Thame and Frances Tophill. There are garden tours, gardening personalities in conversation, hands-on workshops, plant and garden shopping, and delicious food and drink. Tickets include access to all of Audley End House and Gardens’ attractions. Buy tickets at www.bbcgardenersworldfair.com.

Applications for next year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair Beautiful Borders competition open on 1st September 2025. Whether you’re an experienced garden designer, a first-timer or student, or a charity, community group or gardening club, it’s a great opportunity to share your talents, imagination, creativity and love of plants with thousands of keen gardening fans. Measuring just 9m2, the Autumn Fair’s Beautiful Borders are designed to offer visitors small-space inspiration and are a great way to get experience of creating a small show garden at a large-scale event.

The creative theme for the 2026 Beautiful Borders competition is ‘Once Upon a Time’, inviting entrants to show how even the smallest garden space can become a storybook. Autumn Fair visitors will be transported into a world where imagination blooms and every detail tells a tale. Whether inspired by a special memory, a journey towards health and wellbeing, a personal achievement, dream or meaningful moment, creating a Beautiful Border is a great opportunity to tell a story through plants, colour and design. It’s personal stories and lived experiences the Autumn Fair organisers are looking for rather than film or book interpretations.

BBC Gardeners’ World events’ friendly, experienced horticultural team supports entrants every step of the way, from application, through build and to final reveal. 15 £250 bursaries are available to applicants for plants and props. Entries are assessed on site by esteemed professional assessors, with medals and awards for all. Applications for the 2026 Autumn Fair Beautiful Borderscompetition close on 1st May 2026.

BBC GARDENERS’ WORLD AUTUMN FAIR 2025

BEAUTIFUL BORDER AWARDS

Theme: Cultivating Connections

Best Beautiful Border and Best BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscriber Border:Charlotte Hugh, Conversation in Bloom

Award: Platinum

Best Interpretation of the Theme: Emily Passmore, The Interwoven Garden

Award: Gold

Full award results:

Photos credit BBC Gardeners’ World events/Jason Ingram

Source Julie Parmenter, Brampton PR