12 breathtaking images to inspire you to enter the International Garden Photographer of the Year

Entries are open to discover this year's International Garden Photographer of the Year – and the pictures on this page give you some idea of the incredible standard that of the competition.

"Jakobstuin" - The garden of Jaap de Vries by Michael Volker / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
"Jakobstuin" - The garden of Jaap de Vries by Michael Volker / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

Peter's Stone in Cressbrook Dale with a group of early purple orchids, by Graham Dunn / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

Peter's Stone in Cressbrook Dale with a group of early purple orchids, by Graham Dunn / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Graham Dunn / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

Anyone is free to enter the International Garden Photographer of the Year, so long as their submissions arrive by the deadline of October 31. So if you have a plant portrait, garden picture or a fantastical botanical landscape sitting on your camera's memory card, now is the time to send it off.

There's a prize for the overall winner of £7,500, while the winners of specific portfolios win £2,000 and a gold medal from the Royal Photographic Society. The winners will also have the honour of seeing their pictures exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew from February 2019, after which the exhibition will go on tour across the world.

As you'll see from the pictures below, entries go far beyond gardens – the awards are a celebration of nature in every environment, whether wild or artificial. There's a long list of categories you can enter, including 'Beautiful Gardens', 'The Bountiful Earth' and 'Greening the City', and an 'Abstract Views' category which has seen photographers pushing the genre and expanding our perception of nature.

Get more details and enter the competition at igpoty.com – the closing date is October 31.


"Jakobstuin" - The garden of Jaap de Vries by Michael Volker / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

"Jakobstuin" - The garden of Jaap de Vries by Michael Volker / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: (C) Copyright by Volker Michael)

Woodland shot by Paul Marcellini / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

By Paul Marcellini / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Woodland shot by Paul Marcellini / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

Summer Breeze by Geoff Kell ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

Summer Breeze by Geoff Kell ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Geoff Kell ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

A garden by Giovanni Maurizi / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

A garden by Giovanni Maurizi / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Giovanni Maurizi / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

Quo vadis by Annette Lepple ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

Quo vadis by Annette Lepple ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Annette Lepple ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

Viper's Bugloss at sunrise by John Glover ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

Viper's Bugloss at sunrise by John Glover ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: John Glover ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

'Through The Garden' by Nicky Flint / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

'Through The Garden' by Nicky Flint / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Nicky Flint / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

'Serendipity' by Andrea Pozzi / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

'Serendipity' by Andrea Pozzi / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: 'Serendipity' by Andrea Pozzi / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

'Rainbow' by Stephen Moore / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Stephen Moor / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

'Fairbrook Falls' by Francis Taylor / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Francis Joseph Taylor / ©International Garden Photographer of the Year)

'Cerrado Sunrise' by Marcio Cabral ©International Garden Photographer of the Year

'Cerrado Sunrise' by Marcio Cabral ©International Garden Photographer of the Year
(Image credit: Marcio Cabral / International Garden Photographer of the Year)

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The stories behind these shortlist pictures from the Natural History Museum's much-loved Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition are as

The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, takes the salute during the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. (©Jane Barlow/PA)

Credit: The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, takes the salute during the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. (©Jane Barlow/PA)

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©Landscape Photographer of the Year awards - Ken Rennie

Credit: ©Landscape Photographer of the Year awards - Ken Rennie

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If you've taken a superb photograph of Britain in the past year, you're still in time to submit it to


Toby Keel

Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.