Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield
@cuthbertsbrae_garden’s Lizzie Schofield said she was ‘feeling great’ after winning Alan Titchmarsh’s New Talent of the Year Award 2024 at this year’s Garden Media Guild Awards Ceremony. spoke. This fierce accolade, sponsored by T&M, celebrates the ease with which Lizzie offers interesting gardening advice and encourages everyone to try something new.
Living in the North East of Scotland, Lizzie is a proud ambassador for Scottish garden planning and TV presenter of Beechgrove Gardens on BBC Two. Here’s what she said about her love of gardening and winning the GMG Award…
Please tell us how you started gardening.
I think I really got into gardening around the time I had my children. We wanted to create something special for our family to enjoy, so we bought a small piece of land and the hillside around our house (which was overgrown with brambles) and slowly started turning it into something beautiful.
What is your greatest gardening accomplishment?
Lizzy’s Coastal Gardens in Scotland
Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield
My greatest accomplishment in gardening, other than transforming my garden, was being part of the presentation team at Beechgrove Gardens and being able to share my passion with an audience. When it comes to actual cultivation, I have to say that I have successfully grown loofah after four years of trying in the north-east of Scotland.
We are also very excited to have won the 2024 Alan Titchmarsh New Talent of the Year Award from the Garden Media Guild. It is a huge honor as all the finalists are deserving of the award. I still can’t believe it! 2024 is definitely the cherry on the cake and I’m excited for new opportunities in 2025.
How has social media use affected your gardening journey?
Dahlias are one of Lizzie’s essential flowers.
Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield
I love being part of the gardening community on Instagram. Everyone was so nice and supportive and gave me a platform to share my growing successes and failures and my passion for gardening crafts.
If you were trapped on a deserted island and could only collect three plants: a practical plant, a beautiful plant, or a rare plant, what would it be?
Scarlet willow’s highly attractive bright red stems are perfect for textiles and crafts.
Image: Salix alba ‘Chermesina’ (Scarlet Willow) from T&M
My desert island plants are:
Practical: Scarlet willow can be woven into shelters. Beautiful: Dahlia’s ‘Totally Tangerine’ or perhaps ‘Cafe au Lait’. Rare: Echium pininana
What’s next?
Lizzie’s gorgeous coastal garden at sunset
Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield
In the future, I would like to write a gardening book for children. Before becoming a gardener, I was an elementary school teacher for 19 years. I want to inspire young children and their parents to take on the challenge of growing up.
Garden Media Guild Award Details
Each year, the Garden Media Guild honors talented gardening professionals with a variety of awards. The competitive shortlist includes authors, journalists, photographers, vloggers, podcasters and gardening influencers.
This year, Thompson & Morgan is delighted to sponsor the Alan Titchmarsh New Talent of the Year Awards 2024. This special award is given to “an individual who has demonstrated talent and potential in their field and has taken an outstanding first step in the world of garden media.” See the complete list of GMG awards here.
Since the first seed catalog was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest mail order seed and plant companies. Through publishing catalogs and operating an award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the highest quality products money can buy.
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