APL celebrates 30th anniversary with Best Show Garden win at BBC Gardeners’ World Live

16 June 2025 

We are thrilled to announce that Rachel Bailey Garden Design has won Best Show Garden and achieved a Platinum award at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2025 with the stunning garden ‘Where There’s Water, There’s Life’ - created to mark the 30th anniversary of the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL). 

This beautiful and innovative garden explores the crucial connection between water, people, plants and wildlife. It features a range of sustainable landscaping techniques, including a rain garden, a green-roofed pergola and an elevated decked walkway across a pond, demonstrating the potential for landscaping to support biodiversity while creating welcoming and functional outdoor spaces. 

The accolade was announced by gardening broadcaster and writer David Hurrion following a rigorous judging process by a panel of acclaimed designers and landscape professionals. Over 90,000 visitors to BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC Birmingham enjoyed the show’s wide range of gardens, floral displays and Beautiful Borders, with Rachel’s garden proving a major highlight. 

Designed by Rachel Bailey and built by APL members Design It Landscapes, the garden showcased the power of collaboration between professional designers and landscapers. In addition to the Best Show Garden title, the garden’s construction team also took home the award for Best Construction Landscaper, recognising their outstanding craftsmanship and attention to detail. 

Phil Tremayne, General Manager of the APL, said: 

“We’re absolutely delighted with this result. As part of our 30th anniversary celebrations, this garden perfectly captures what the APL stands for—collaboration, professionalism, and a commitment to high-quality, sustainable landscaping. Huge congratulations to Rachel and the entire team who brought this vision to life.” 

Rachel Bailey commented: 

“This is an amazing result for our team. I’m thrilled. It shows what can be achieved when professional designers and landscapers work together from the concept stage to bring a garden to life. I’m grateful to the Association of Professional Landscapers and Society of Garden Designers for their support.” 

Dan Ryan of Design It Landscapes added: 

“It’s fantastic to achieve this result for Rachel and the APL. This project was made possible by the incredible support and teamwork from across the APL network.” 

Judging panel Chair Roger Platts, award-winning garden designer, praised the garden’s exceptional quality: 

“In every area, this garden excels. The standard of design, construction and planting is outstanding, and the garden’s atmosphere, sustainability features and attention to detail made it a joy to assess. It’s a great showcase of the high standards upheld by the APL.” 

The APL is proud to support and champion the professional landscaping community, and this award-winning garden stands as a testament to the skill, creativity and collaboration of our members. As we celebrate 30 years of the APL, we are excited to continue supporting excellence in garden design and construction across the UK.