Lorraine Mills Runner up in the 2006BBC Gardener of the Year

GARDENER OF THE YEAR . . . . . . updated 29th Jan 2007

Lorraine's participation in the competition began last summer when, after making it through the initial entry process Lorraine was quizzed on a multitude of things horticultural followed by a visit from the BBC inquisition panel before she found she was one of four entries selected for the programme.

Quite early on in the proceedings, Lorraine was asked who she would take as a help her with the project if she won through to the final stages which involved building a real garden in front of the cameras. "The first name that came to mind was David's (Williams) as I knew if I took my husband it would be divorce on national television!"

After a short course of intensive persuasion David finally agreed to take part and the team were ready for the task ahead.

The seating area of Lorraine's design On a total budget of £1200, the brief was to produce a low maintenance, hard wearing and contemporary space for entertaining, with an emphasis on texture, shapes and colours as the owner had insisted that he didn't want his 8.5m x 5.0m plot (approx. 28' by 16' for those who haven't yet been metricated) crowded with plants.

Stone and shingle Lorraine's design used organically shaped paving, with rubber matting for a circular seating area. The rest of the garden was covered with a mulch of shingle and slate.

Lorraine asked David to create a semicircular screen to draw the eye away from the garage wall and create a sense of enclosure around the seating area. The owners insistence on metal, rather than wood would have exceeded the budget so Lorraine substituted plastic pipes sprayed silver. This saved the budget but resulted in a sever case of paint sprayers finger.

The empties are put to good use Genuine metal additions touches were a stainless steel water feature and planters and seating made from gabions which Lorraine planned to fill with wine bottles. Worries about finding the 300 required were soon dispelled, another advantage of living in this village as residents selflessly applied themselves to the task of emptying the required number.

Lorraine And David in their winning Garden Lorraine and David had three weeks to prepare before decamping to Tamworth for the three days allowed to build the gardens in front of the cameras.

The judges, Chelsea medal winner Andy Sturgeon, presenter Rachel de Thame and Gardeners' World editor Adam Pascoe awarded Lorraine top marks for the garden she was beaten to the title by one point on her horticultural knowledge.

Three days of hard work with the added pressure of cameras and microphones left Lorraine and David exhausted but they both enjoyed their brief moment of fame. They are pictured here in the finished garden with the cameraman.

Thanks to Lorraine for supplying all the information and pictures to bail out your incompetent reporter.

For more information from a proper report take a look at Lorraine's page on the gardening section of the BBC web site

The four teams who competed in the 2006 Gardener of the Year final are pictured below with David and Lorraine are seated with Sue Beesley, the eventual overall winner, in the centre.

The Finalists -BBC Gardener of the Year 2006