When Sarah Taylor started her garden 27 years ago, she never imagined that one day she would not only appear on television but would also be given an award for her gardening efforts.

Sarah, of South Warnborough, is a keen member of the National Garden Scheme (NGS), which raises money for charity through garden openings.

When she was approached by Talkback Television to take part in the Channel 5 show I Own Britain’s Best Home and Garden, she jumped at the chance.

“I wasn’t interested in taking part for myself, but I saw it as an excellent opportunity to give a bit of publicity to the work of the NGS,” she said.

What Sarah wasn’t expecting, however, was to be awarded a gold medal in recognition of the design and interesting content of her garden. 

The series is presented by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and the programme featuring Sarah and her garden was shown on September 11.

The format is one of a competition between two gardens featured each week, with comments and judging by RHS judge Mark Gregory, garden writer Laetitia Maklouf and the famously spiky Anne Wareham, a garden critic.

According to Laurence Llewelyn Bowen, the show features the creme de la creme of British gardens, but with a touch of Dragon’s Den and X Factor thrown in for good measure.

For someone like Sarah, unaccustomed to appearing in front of the camera, it was an interesting but nerve-wracking experience.

“It is very difficult talking on camera when you’re not used to it,” she said. “I’m just pleased I didn’t make an idiot of myself.

“Fortunately, my friends and family loved it and there was some lovely photography of the garden.

“And although Anne Wareham was quite hard to please, it was nice to have some feedback because, essentially, gardening is quite a lonely occupation.”

In fact, this wasn’t the first time Sarah’s garden has appeared in the limelight. It has also featured in a number of national publications, including Country Living, The English Garden, the Sunday Times and Period Living, so it is clearly something special.

However, you would be forgiven for thinking that the garden was grandiose and extravagant.
In reality, it is quite the opposite. It consists of a long, narrow strip covering around three quarters of an acre and is designed along what is known as the naturalistic style as propounded by Dutch gardening guru Piet Ouldouf.

This approach to gardening emphasises the texture, shape and form, of the plants in a way that creates visual harmony. While not copying nature, it aims to echo it.

Sarah explained: “The naturalistic style uses lots of perennials and grasses. What I like about it is that it has beauty all year in different ways.

“For example, I like the simplicity of the winter when you can see things which are hidden in the summer like the box hedging.

“I tend to leave the plants as long as possible before I cut them down because I like the structural interest of the stems and seed heads, particularly when they’re covered with frost.

“But then I find it very exciting when you start to see the new growth in the spring. It’s so full of energy.

“With a garden like this you have a long season of interest and you get different colour schemes at the various times of the year.

“I’m not so bothered about having lots of flowers. I like colours of course, but with shape, form, structure and movement.

“In this garden, because I use perennials, you really see big changes from season to season.

“It goes from bare earth at the beginning of the year when everything has been cut right back, right through to the extravagantly tall and colourful growth of the summer. ”

To be recognised for her efforts on national television is all the more pleasing for Sarah, as she has created this award-winning garden single-handedly.

She continued: “I never used to have much time for gardening because I had four children and then I worked full-time as a teacher.

“However, some years ago I got the opportunity to work at Green Farm Plants in Bentley and this turned out to be a life-changing experience.

“It was there that I became fascinated by these plants and had the chance to learn about them.

“Gradually, I was able to devote more time to the garden but it was all a bit ad hoc. There was never any plan to my design.

“It was more a case of clearing areas to allow me to grow the plants I wanted, but it just worked.

“Then someone suggested I open the garden to the public through the NGS, and when people came and said they liked it, I realised it was actually a very good garden.”

The garden is open three times a year through the NGS and at other times by appointment for group visits.

Sarah says it’s hard work, as she provides home-made teas for visitors, but open days give her the incentive to get everything in the garden as it should be.

“You know, people visit and they say how much they like the garden and that it’s inspiring,” she said.

“It’s a modest garden and the visitors have modest gardens too, so they find it very interesting,” she said.

“I say to them if I can do it, then so can you. It doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take time and energy.

“Plus, it’s a healthy activity and very therapeutic so you get a real sense of wellbeing. Watching something grow really is life enhancing.

“The NGS is such a wonderful organisation so I’m hoping that my success on the television show will bring in lots of extra visitors next year as it will be mentioned in the listing in the scheme’s Yellow Book guide.

“We had an opening just after the television show and the visitors were all talking about the programme so it did create interest.

“There are some grand gardens in the NGS, but this is gardening on a domestic scale and it’s nice to be able to share it with people and support charity at the same time.”