Community Spirit is Blooming in Newtongrange

Newtongrange Community Council announces the winners of historic garden competition

For the past month, the residents of a Midlothian village have been celebrating 150 years of horticultural heritage by planting, pruning, weeding and watering their gardens in a bid to be crowned a winner in the Newtongrange Garden Competition.

And Newtongrange Community Council is now pleased to reveal the names of the green-fingered locals that stood out in this historic garden contest. 

With prizes up for grabs in a number of categories including Best Garden, Best Pots and Baskets, Best Wild Garden, Best Fruit and Veg, Best Flowers and Best Young Gardener, competition to win these coveted cups was especially high this year. 

Taking on the difficult role of judging the entries were Sarah Matthews of Newtongrange Community Council, Rebecca McCosh of the Newtongrange Guerrilla Gardeners and Flora Florence of Newtongrange Community Garden.

According to the judges, what made the competition even more special this year was not only the amount of thought, time and effort that the residents had invested in their gardens, but also the community spirit that was evident throughout the village, with judges commenting that some competitors has selflessly shared their knowledge and even their blooms with neighbours to help brighten up the area. 

The honour of presenting the trophies this year fell to Newtongrange Gala King, Mason Thompson, and Newtongrange Community Council Chair, Jeremy Adderley. A ceremony took place in Newtongrange Community Garden on Saturday 5^th July.

The winners of the 2025 Newtongrange Garden Competition were as follows:

Category: Best Garden

• Winner: Blair McNeil
• Judges’ remarks: “This was a true hidden gem. The design was stunning and so ambitious. We loved the distinct zones and how it made us feel moving through the different spaces. It was tranquil, surprising and beautiful. And the fact it has attracted newts and other wildlife just shows that nature loves this garden too!”

Category: Best Pots and Baskets

• Winners: Graeme and Nel Sinclair
• Judges’ remarks: “This garden had the wow factor! It was absolutely immaculate. There was so much colour and so many items of interest to grab attention. We loved how they evidently “thought outside the box” (excuse the pun!) when it came to pots and baskets by reimagining unusual items such as an old mangle as planters. The fact that Graeme crafted the flower wheel himself was so impressive. We also loved how they have evidently shared their gardening knowledge with neighbours.”

Category: Best Wild Garden

• Winner: Zoe Baillie
  Judges’ remarks: “Zoe clearly has a deep understanding of nature and how to nurture it. Evidence of hedgehogs on the ‘Hedgehog Highway’ just shows she’s doing everything right!”

Category: Best Fruit and Veg

• Winner: Newtongrange Primary School
• Judges’ remarks: “The school garden is a triumphant transformation and it keeps going from strength to strength. It is not only producing some fantastic fruit and veg, it is also providing a valuable opportunity for the children to learn where their food is coming from and for hands-on experience cultivating and caring for nature. It was especially nice to sample their strawberries and beans!”

Category: Best Flowers

• Winner: Helen Law
• Judges’ remarks: “We were really touched by the stories behind Helen’s flowers and the fact she has been able to love and nurture so many of them for years and years. She had a lovely mix of colour and some unusual varieties that really stood out. We also liked how she shared blooming plants with her neighbours.”

Category: Best Young Gardener

• Winner: Oscar Bell
• Judges’ remarks: “This budding gardener has a real understanding of how things grow, as shown in his recordings. Oscar has a bright future ahead of him in horticulture!” 

As well as picking up a trophy, each winner also took home a prize kindly donated by a local business including The Dean Tavern, Be Happy Performing Arts Company, Kaya’s Café, Pastel Bakery, National Mining Museum Scotland and The Sun Inn.

Commenting on the success of the competition, Adderley said; “The roots of this historic garden competition can be traced back 150 years and after reviving it in 2023, it’s fantastic to see it gaining momentum year on year and the bar being raised even higher this time around. 

“I’m reminded of the saying “We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.” I’m reminded not only because of what all the lovely gardens of Newtongrange say about our community values, but that we all will appreciate these gardens in different ways, and all the entrants in the competition had merit. So, thanks to all the entrants on behalf of our village community for putting yourselves forward, it’s wonderful!”