Loire Valley Gardens announce winners of their first annual media awards

Owners of eleven prestigious Loire Valley Gardens including 6 garden members of the RHS accompanied the regional and county tourist boards to London for a full day’s workshop and lecture program dedicated to their gardens yesterday, 20th October 2011.

At the end of the workshop the winners of the photographer and writer of the year were announced. A 1st Edition book for the RHS library was presented to RHS President Elizabeth Banks on the occasion of their visit by the President of the Loire Valley Gardens Association, Guillaume Henrion.

The event which took place in the RHS Conference Centre was attended by over 100 media, tour operators and RHS members. The French gardeners discussed how festivals and events can shape the marketing of a Garden, unveiled the variety of gardens and gardeners found in just this one region and gave a snapshot history of how the gardens were created and have developed into a “Must-visit” in France. The event demonstrated how tourism, gardening, history, culture and gastronomy are integral to the Loire Valley and its visitor economy.

Allan Pollock-Morris/Louisa Jones and Jacky Hobbs/Michelle Garrett won the writer and photographers awards for their articles that had been published in the Garden and Homes and Gardens respectively. The winners were presented with a box of top Loire Valley Wines worth over £200 each. “The articles and photographs submitted showed how much variety there is to write about in the region and how many more stories there are still to tell” explained Marie-Estelle Beaudoin, Head of the Loire Valley Tourism Delegation, “The aim of the awards is to encourage more writers and photographers to visit our region and uncover interesting angles to write about and photograph. We hope that those journalists who have spent the day with us will take away aspects that they would like to explore further.” concluded Beaudoin.

The evening lecture given by Henri Carvallo of the Chateau of Villandry was introduced by Elizabeth Banks, President of the RHS. “It is a great pleasure to be able to introduce one of our 20 French garden members and to meet so many others here today from the Loire Valley, and I am very grateful on behalf of the RHS to receive such a special book “Les Jardins de l’Avenir, Hier, Aujourd’hui, Demain by Achille Duchene” which will be a fabulous addition to the RHS library” commented Banks.

Photos of winners below are copyright RHS and show Allan Pollock-Morris/Louisa Jones - The Garden and Jacky Hobbs/Michelle Garrett - Homes & Gardens