Finalists include organisations that have been shortlisted for single and multiple awards - and include representative sites from major national organisations such as Engish Heritage, the National Trust and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as well as independent gardens, local authorities, and specialist private and third sector partners.
The shortlist in full:
Antrim Castle Gardens
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Nene Park
Birmingham Botanical Gardens shortlisted twice
Brobury House and Gardens
City of Edinburgh
City of London Corporation - Open Spaces Department
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Enable Leisure & Culture - Battersea Park
English Heritage - Deal Community Hop Farm
English Heritage Osborne Garden shortlisted twice
English Heritage Brodsworth Hall shortlisted twice
Erewash Borough Council
Glendale Lewisham Partnership
HM Gardens Limekiln Place
Lady Penelope Gardens King Edward VII Estate
Logan Botanic Garden
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council - shortlisted three times
Harting School National Trust
Mount Stewart Gardens National Trust
Croome National Trust
Bodnant Garden National Trust
Nurture Landscapes - Cranfield University
RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Shakespeare's New Place - Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
The Alnwick Garden
Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve and Howletts Wild Animal Park
The Conservation Volunteers
The Parks Trust Milton Keynes - shortlisted four times
Penllergare Valley Woods
Trentham Gardens St. Modwen - shortlisted four times
The Wandle Valley Regional Park
Watford Borough Council - shortlisted five times
West Dean Gardens
Westway Trust
The winners will be announced at a prestigious awards reception and presentation hosted by Horticulture Week at the fabulous Woburn Abbey House & Gardens Sculpture Gallery on the afternoon of 27th June.
The awards were judged this year by Professional Gardeners' Guild (PGG) chair Tony Arnold, Professional Gardens Consultants Association founder Alan Sargent, The Gardens Trust's Margie Hoffnung, parks consultant Sid Sullivan and Woburn Abbey's head of estate and 2017 Custodian Award winner Martin Towsey.
Commenting on this year's entries, Horticulture Week editor Kate Lowe said: "A huge thank you to everyone who entered the 2018 Horticulture Week Custodian Awards for your hard work comiling your entries - and many congratulations to our finalists.
"The quality of our entries was outstanding this year and proves that our parks and gardens are simply brimming with talent and achievement - a message these awards will highlight to key stakeholders. Our judges' task to choose the finalists and winners was tougher than ever and thanks are due to the panel for their efforts to ensure all received a thorough hearing."
To BOOK TICKETS to the awards reception and presentation, please go to www.horticultureweeklive/custodianwards/.
For more information email awards manager Sian O'Neill at sian.oneill@haymarket.com.
For sponsorship queries email Roisin Kennedy at roisin.kennedy@haymarket.com.
The Horticulture Week Custodian Awards 2018 charity partner is industry charity Perennial and our media partners are the PGG, Parks Alliance, Chartered Institute of Horticulture, the PGCA and Landscape Institute.
Parks & Gardens Live 2018
The HW Custodian Awards presentation will once again be co-located with the Parks & Gardens Live showcase event at Woburn Abbey House & Gardens on 27 June.
Parks & Gardens Live, which is free to attend, is curated by HW's Sally Drury, and will offer parks and gardens practitioners the opportunity to learn about the latest products and kit through a product showcase and live kit demonstrations.
They will also benefit from workshops led by leading experts in the field, including master gardener and HW columnist Alan Sargent, who is back by popular demand and will be leading inspirational and informative workshops for parks and gardens staff and their teams.
Joining him this year to run a well-timed workshop to help those managing parks and gardens with the vital task of ensuring staff and volunteer compliance with health & safety requirements will be Neil Huck, national group training manager at Ground Control, well known in the industry for his technical expertise and leadership.
Expert advice will also be on hand from members of the Professional Gardens Consultants Assocation who will be running an advice hub throughout Parks & Gardens Live, while product tours will be conducted by Sally Drury to help attendees learn about the latest product and kit solutions on show from exhibitors such as British Sugar Topsoil, John Chambers Wild Flower Seed, and Spider radio remote controlled mowers which will be demonstrated at the event.
To REGISTER for free entry to Parks & Gardens Live, go to www.custodianawards.com/parks- and-gardens-live.
To BOOK SPACE in the KIT SHOWCASE, email roisin.kennedy@haymarket.com.
For further event details, email sian.oneill@haymarket.com.
