Lizzie Schofield potting shed

Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield

Lizzie Schofield of @cuthbertsbrae_garden said she was ‘on cloud nine’ after scooping The Alan Titchmarsh New Talent of the Year Award 2024 at this year’s Garden Media Guild ceremony. Sponsored by T&M, this fiercely contested accolade celebrates the ease with which Lizzie delivers interesting horticultural advice while encouraging everyone to try new things.

Living in the north-east of Scotland, Lizzie is a proud ambassador for Scotland’s Garden Scheme and a television presenter on BBC Two’s Beechgrove Garden. Here’s what she had to say about her love of gardening and winning the GMG award…

Tell us how you got into gardening?

I suppose I really got into gardening when I first had my children. We wanted to create something special for our family to enjoy and spend time in so we bought the small piece of land and the hillside around our house (which was covered with thick brambles) and slowly started to transform it into something beautiful.

What’s been your greatest gardening achievement?

Lizzie Schofield's Scottish garden

Lizzie’s coastal garden in Scotland
Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield

My greatest gardening achievement apart from transforming our garden is being part of the presenting team for Beechgrove Garden and being able to share my passion with that audience. In relation to actually growing things, I would have to say successfully growing a luffa in the northeast of Scotland – after 4 years of trying!

I’m also absolutely thrilled to have been given The Alan Titchmarsh New Talent of the Year Award 2024 by the Garden Media Guild. It’s a huge honour as everyone who was shortlisted was worthy of winning. I still can’t quite believe it! It’s definitely the cherry on the top of the cake that has been 2024, and I’m excited about the new opportunities for 2025.

How has using social media impacted your gardening journey?

Lizzie Schofield with dahlias

Dahlias are one of Lizzie’s must-have flowers
Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield

I love being part of the gardening community on Instagram! Everyone is so lovely and supportive and it has offered me a platform where I can share my successes and failures of the growing season and also share my passion for garden crafts.

If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take three plants – one practical, one beautiful, and one unusual, what would they be?

Salix alba 'Chermesina' or Scarlet Willow

The highly attractive, bright red stems of Scarlet Willow are ideal for weaving and crafting
Image: Salix alba ‘Chermesina’ (Scarlet Willow) from T&M

My three desert island plants would be:

  • Practical: Scarlet willow so I could weave it into a shelter.
  • Beautiful: It would have to be dahlias ‘Totally Tangerine’ or maybe ‘Cafe au Lait’.
  • Unusual: Echium pininana

What’s next?

Lizzie Schofield's red hot pokers

Lizzie’s gorgeous coastal garden at sunset
Image courtesy of Lizzie Schofield

In the future, I would love to write some gardening books for children. Before becoming a gardener I was a primary school teacher for 19 years and would love to inspire young children and also their parents to have a go at growing!

More about the Garden Media Guild Awards

Each year, the Garden Media Guild celebrates talented gardening professionals with a selection of awards. The competitive shortlist features authors, journalists, photographers, vloggers, podcasters and gardening influencers.

This year, Thompson & Morgan is delighted to sponsor ‘The Alan Titchmarsh New Talent of the Year Award 2024’. This special award is for “the person that has made outstanding first steps in the world of garden media, demonstrating talent and potential in his or her field.” Find the full list of GMG awards here.

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