Over the past five weeks, five budding designers have wowed RTÉ audiences with their ambitious garden designs for the residents of Lagore Lawn, Dunshaughlin, a brand-new development built by Meath County Council for social housing.
Each designer had a budget of €15,000 and three weeks to build their garden, with €5,000 of the budget allocated to Irish grown plants.
The gardens will be judged by Bord Bia Bloom representative Gary Graham, Dulux Exteriors representative Monica Alvarez, and Woodie's Garden & DIY Expert Brian Burke.
The winner of Super Garden will have the opportunity to recreate their garden at Bord Bia Bloom, where it will represent the sponsors Woodie’s DIY and Dulux Exteriors.
For the winning designer it’s a launch pad to the premier league of garden design and a chance to show what they can do while showcasing to one hundred thousand visitors in Dublin's Phoenix Park.
Your Super Garden 2023 competitors are:
Beth Newman-Maguire
At the age of 70, Beth Newman-Maguire from Kells, Co. Meath, has become the oldest person to ever take on the challenge of creating a 'super garden'. As an artist and professional sculptor, Beth's work is already well known having created public works of art in Northern Ireland, Meath, Cavan and the iconic 'Baithe Viking Ship' evoking a beached vessel on the Dublin Quays. For Super Garden, Beth set out to create a garden that would play to all our senses.
Trevor Kinsella
48-year-old Trevor Kinsella has a strong connection to the Phoenix Park. His dad was a park ranger and Trevor grew up in the park and this gave him a love of the outdoors. Trevor has been a mechanic, a taxi driver and worked in catering but now as a landscaper he has found his passion. When it comes to design he always tries to include upcycling and repurposing old objects and he brings this to his garden. The new residents in Dunshaughlin give Trevor a specific brief, to create a garden inspired by Morocco.
Carmel Ann Daly
58-year-old Carmel Ann Daly from Waterford is a Consultant Radiologist who has taken a career break to explore something new for the next part of her life. A passionate gardener with a love for plants she has recently done a Horticulture course with Teagasc Kildalton and SETU. For Super Garden, Camel Ann set out to create a "plants persons garden with water and a relaxing area to have a glass of dessert wine in the evening after a day’s gardening". She feels that the garden will reflect who she is, "Like a swan, calm and majestic on the surface and all hard work and activity in the background".
Colm Carty
Colm Carty is a 34-year-old Quantity Surveyor from Newry, Co Down. His interest in gardening started when he was 11 and he began helping neighbours with their gardens and when one of the neighbours had their garden landscaped Colm then became very interested in garden design. His other passion is GAA, Colm was on the Down Minor team that won the All-Ireland in 2005.Colm sees Super Garden as an opportunity to make a move into Garden Design, making his passion his work.
Cian McAvinney
37-year-old Civil Engineer and Landscaper Cian McAvinney from Co. Meath set up his own company, Rocksolvers, four years ago, when he saw that there was a market in landscaping for coastal gardens which sat on a cliff or rock face. When it comes to design he says he is a risk taker, he wants to blend quirky with sophisticated, he says that the design is 90% in his head, the challenge is getting it down on paper. He is also a perfectionist and says that "if finishes aren't 110% I get annoyed with myself". Cian says taking part in Super Garden will open more doors for him and allow him to continue to do what he loves.
Watch the final of Super Garden on Thursday, June 1 at 7:00pm on RTÉ One.
