The Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition

View the recording from the 2025 Grand Final of the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition, held at Hillsborough Castle & Gardens, Co. Down on Saturday 10th May, by clicking on the videos, above.

YHOY Grand Final 2025

Meet this year’s Grand Finalists

Eastern – Charlotte Hayden

Representing Eastern district, Charlotte Hayden is a Trainee Gardener under the Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme (HBGTP), placed at Audley End House and Gardens.

“As a gardener, I love experiencing the seasonality of the garden I work in and the opportunity to familiarise myself with its plant collection as well as the wildlife that inhabit it.

As I progress in my career, I hope to learn more about how gardeners can conserve historic gardens and the ecosystems they support, considering the effects of climate change. As I move on from the HBGTP in August, I hope to progress to another training opportunity to continue building my skillset and knowledge within the context of a different garden, and with new plants to learn from.”

West Midlands & South Wales – George Gaia Holmes

Introducing the West Midlands & South Wales representative for this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year competition Grand Final – George Gaia Holmes!

George is currently employed as Garden/Kitchen Garden Lead at a Cotswolds private estate where he has developed a real passion especially for organic kitchen gardening.

“There’s something so satisfying about growing your own food and working with nature every step of the way. These days, I feel most myself when I’m out in the garden, getting my hands dirty. I’m constantly learning, always curious, and endlessly inspired by the way plants quietly shape the world.

I’m so grateful to be part of YHOY and I honestly wish the best of luck to everyone involved – we’re all connected by the same love for something real and beautiful.”

Northern – Otto Speight

Otto Speight is the Northern Finalist at this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year competition Grand Final. He is horticulturist on the Floral team at RHS Garden Harlow Carr, a role he took on after graduating from the RHS apprenticeship last year.

“My passion lies in ecological design. I am particularly obsessed with British native ferns, their identification, conservation and cultivation. I also have a deep love for alpine gardening and propagation.

I aspire to become a full-time ecological garden designer, working in both private and public gardens while establishing my own design agency. I also hope to contribute to wild plant conservation through work and volunteering.”

North West & North Wales – Matthew Thurgood

Representing the North West and North Wales, Matthew Thurgood is a Craft Gardener with Leeds City Council’s Parks and Countryside department. He began gardening as an apprentice for the Council in 2023 and now has a permanent role tending to ornamental gardens, amenity greenspaces and woodlands in the city’s parks.

“More than anything, I love the potential gardens have for connecting people – both to one another and to nature – and I like to see horticulture as not just a field of work, but a method for a better way of living. Gardening has quickly taken over every aspect of my own life and I now spend most of my spare time pottering about the allotment and talking about apple trees.”

Scotland – Frank Cooke

Frank Cooke is Scotland’s representative for this year’s YHoY Grand Final. He is a 1^st year Horticulture (Plantsmanship) student at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Scotland’s Rural College.

“I am particularly interested in plant biodiversity and taxonomy, especially of tropical plants. As well as being a student, I also volunteer as a glasshouse horticulturist working with the tropical Ericaceae collection at RBGE.”

South East – Anja Seymour

Anja Seymour is the South East region finalist at this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition Grand Final. Anja is a Diploma student and Botanical Horticulturist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, she will be graduating from the Kew Diploma this year.

“Working at Kew has given me the opportunity to broaden my horticultural horizons even further, and I have developed a passion for working with tropical plants, particularly palms. I have recently been offered a role in the Tropical Nursery at Kew, supporting the propagation of all species in the Palm House, for the upcoming restoration project and I’m really excited to be joining the team.”

Ireland – Sarah Simpson

Introducing the Ireland representative for this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year competition Grand Final – Sarah Simpson!

Sarah is a horticulture technician in the college in the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin. They are also studying part time for their Bachelor of Science in Horticulture which they will graduate from SETU next year.

“The area of horticulture I am most interested in is sustainable and ecologically conscious landscape design, which combines two great passions of mine, being creative and looking for bugs!

I competed in the Grand Final of the Young horticulturist of the Year competition in 2022, and this being the final year before I age out of the competition, I said I would throw my hat in the ring once more.”