The Beautiful Durham gardening competition

The image gallery shows previous competition entries.

The competition, which is free to enter, is open to residents, schools and organisations in Durham City and surrounding villages. Beautiful Durham encourages impressive floral displays and environmental improvements in the Durham City area. The aim is to create and celebrate a more attractive environment in which we can all live, visit or work. By entering your floral containers, garden, back yard, village, business, school or group into the competition, you will also be contributing to Durham City's entry into the Royal Horticultural Society's Northumbria in Bloom competition.

2022 competition dates

Dates for this year's competition: 

• Entries will close on Wednesday 29 June 2022
• Judging will take place on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 July 2022
• An awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 5 October 2022

Categories and last year's winners

A full list of last year's winner is available upon request. 

Even if you don't have a garden, you can still enter your plant pots, containers, window boxes or hanging baskets. There are 13 different categories:

1. Best business premises (public houses, hotels, shops, factories and warehouses etc.)
2. Best group horticultural project (schools, community groups, garden clubs, youth groups, churches, resident groups etc.)
3. Best sheltered accommodation complex/warden controlled housing area
4. Durham's best kept residential area
5. Best floral containers
6. Best house garden- small (under 150 metres sq)
7. Best house garden - medium (150 metres sq to 300 metres sq)
8. Best house garden - large (over 300 metres sq)
9. Best back yard or patio garden
10. Best allotment or kitchen garden
11. Best small village (population up to 500)
12. Best village (population 501 to 2000)
13. Best large village (population over 2000)

Further information

If you would like more information about the Beautiful Durham competition, please contact us.