Saturday 10th May, Historic Royal Palaces Hillsborough Castle and Garden, glorious sunshine and the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2025 Grand Final!
Hillsborough Castle, County Down, Northern Ireland is the official home of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Hillsborough, although called a castle, is actually a grand Georgian property, sitting in over 90 acres of estate. It has been the setting for some of the pivotal meetings in diplomatic events, including those leading to the Good Friday Agreement. In 2014, Historic Royal Palaces took over the running of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens and began an ambitious project to restore the house and gardens to its former glory. The historic gardens, which were developed from the 1760s onwards, offer intriguing contrasts between ornate formal gardens, woodland and meadows, containing many specimen trees and rare plants as you explore the grounds.
With a wide range of backgrounds, the Grand Finalists were well matched, and this was proven across the rounds. The early held ident rounds provided the first of the points, which were some of the highest seen in previous years of the competition, showing it was not going to be an ‘easy win’ for anyone. However, it was the Ireland Region Finalist, Sarah Simpson, who, in their last eligible year, won through to take first place.
Sarah Simpson, Ireland Region with (L) David Richardson, CIH President and (R) Maelor Owen, Chairman of the Shropshire Horticultural Society
Sarah is a horticulture technician at Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture, at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin. Sarah is responsible for teaching the practical elements of courses and involved in the plant propagation, plant identification, landscape design, ecology and biodiversity modules. As well as this Sarah continues to study part-time and will graduate from SETU with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture next year, currently focusing on the flora of different urban-industrial sites across Dublin that are earmarked for redevelopment as a thesis topic. The area of horticulture most interesting to Sarah is sustainable and ecologically conscious landscape design, which combines two great passions, being creative and looking for bugs!
After winning, Sarah said “I am absolutely delighted to have won the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2025. I was up against fierce competition and want to congratulate everyone on their performance in the finale. It was no easy win! I’m very excited to see where the Percy Thrower bursary will take me (Madagascar?). I recommend entering the competition to any young horticulturist, it’s a great way to test your own knowledge and I’ve met some wonderful likeminded people along the way. I want to thank my colleagues in the Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture for their support, particularly Paul Fitters who has been a fantastic mentor. I’d also like to thank Victoria George, who has been extremely patient, kind and supportive throughout the contest.”
As the winner of this year’s competition, Sarah receives the £2,500 travel Bursary provided by the Percy Thrower Trust, which they will be able to use to fund a horticultural venture anywhere in the world.
L to R David Richardson, CIH President, Sam Finch, Sarah Simpson, Frank Cooke, Maelor Owen, Chairman of the Shropshire Horticultural Society
Second place went to Sam Finch, Finalist for South-East Region. Sam is the youngest ever Head Gardener with the National Trust, working at both Lytes Cary Manor and Tintinhull Garden, two beautiful Arts and Crafts-style in the South West. With a particular passion for roses and a commitment to organic horticulture, Sam brings both knowledge and heart to the historic landscapes he tends.
Third place was taken by Frank Cooke this year’s Scottish Region Finalist. Frank is a first year Horticulture and Plantsmanship student at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Scotland’s Rural College. Frank is particularly interested in plant biodiversity and taxonomy, especially of tropical plants. As well as being a student, he also volunteers as a glasshouse horticulturist working with the tropical Ericaceae collection at RBGE.
Runners up (in no particular order)
Otto Speight, Northern Region. Otto is a horticulturist on the Floral team at RHS Garden Harlow Carr, a role he took on after graduating from the RHS apprenticeship last year. His journey into horticulture began at 17 as a part-time maintenance gardener, but his passion lies in ecological garden design, and is particularly obsessed with British native ferns, their identification, conservation, and cultivation and a love for alpine gardening and propagation.
Charlotte Hayden, Eastern Region. Charlotte is a trainee gardener under the HBGTP, placed at Audley End House and Gardens. Charlotte loves the seasonality of the garden and the opportunity to get to know its plant collection as well as the wildlife that inhabit it. In the future, Charlotte looks to learn more about how gardeners can conserve historic gardens and the ecosystems they support, considering the effects of climate change.
Anja Seymour, South-East Region. Anja’s passion for horticulture came about during the first COVID lockdown. Propagation and experimenting with different plants gave Anja the inspiration to start a career in horticulture. During a two-year apprenticeship at a specialist plant nursery, Anja was able to work with thousands of varieties of plants, including the National Collections of Sambucus and Nerine sarniensis hybrids, joining the Kew Diploma after finishing. Studying at Kew has given Charlotte a new passion for working with tropical plants, particularly palms.
Matthew Thurgood, North-West North Wales Region. Matthew is a Craft Gardener with Leeds City Council’s Parks and Countryside department. Beginning in 2023 as an apprentice for the Council, Matthew moved to a permanent role tending to the ornamental gardens, amenity greenspaces, and woodlands in Leeds city’s parks. More than anything, Matthew loves the potential gardens have for connecting people, both to one another, and to nature, and likes to see horticulture as not just a field of work, but a method for a better way of living.
George Gaia Holmes, West-Midlands South Wales Region. During the first lockdown, George started building a collection of plant friends, having never really done any “proper” gardening before. After finding out how much he enjoyed this newfound activity, George joined a course at Sparsholt College, followed by the MacRobert Trust traineeship, and now undertakes a role on a Cotswolds Private Estate. George feels gardening became a quiet anchor in life, which has grown into a proper passion, especially for organic kitchen gardening, feeling there’s something so satisfying about growing your own food and working with nature every step of the way.
L to R, Frank Cooke, Scotland, Matthew Thurgood, North-West North Wales, Sarah Simpson, Ireland, Adrian Stockdale (Sponsor), David Richardson, CIH President, Maelor Owen, Chairman of the Shropshire Horticultural Society, Otto Speight, Northern, Anja Seymour, South East, George Gaia Holmes, West Midlands South Wales, Charlotte Hayden, Eastern
After the final, the National Organiser, Victoria, said “Oh my giddy aunt, what a Grand Final! We had an amazing venue, wonderful weather, fantastic hosts, knowledgeable finalists and a brilliant audience to boot, you couldn’t ask for better! I am so pleased for Sarah, not only a win on home turf, but in their final year of eligibility for the competition, the Ireland Region Grand Final will take some beating in the future!”
We are extremely grateful to all the sponsors who have supported this year’s YHoY competition, without whom this competition wouldn’t be possible.
- Shropshire Horticultural Society
- Percy Thrower Trust
- Historic Royal Palaces Hillsborough Castle and Gardens
- Bord Bia (Irish Food Board)
- Bulldog Tools
- PlantNetwork
- Adrian Stockdale: ‘Plant Names Simplified’
- North of England Horticultural Society
- Cherry Lane Garden Centres
- Collier Turf Care
- Hardy Landscapes
- Teagasc | Agriculture and Food Development Authority
- National Trust for Scotland, Greenbank Garden, Glasgow
- National Trust
- Edith Bankes Memorial Hall, Northop
- Kings College, Cambridge
- Pershore College – WCG, Avonbank
- EKC Group Canterbury College, Kent
- University of Exeter
- Ashtown Research Centre, Dublin
YHoY 2026 Round 1 opens Sunday 1st February 2026