Gardens of the Year Competition terms and conditions

2. The BBC Code of Conduct for competitions can be found at https://www.bbc.com/editorialguidelines/guidance/code-of-conduct and all BBC magazines comply with the Code.

Eligibility Criteria

3. The promotion is open to all eligible residents of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands), aged 18 years or older, except the employees or contractors of the Promoter and Alpen, and anyone connected with the promotion or their direct family members. Any gardens which were shortlisted in the competition between 2018 and 2023 are not eligible for entry.

4. Entrants must not earn their living by designing or maintaining gardens for money. The garden must: (i) be a private garden (but may be open occasionally to the public for charities or fund-raising activities only, not as a profit-making activity for the benefit of the owner); and (ii) be maintained by the owner with no more than one full-time helper or employee.

5. Entrants are expected to act fairly and in the good spirit of the competition. Immediate reserves the right to investigate any irregularities and disqualify entrants at its absolute discretion. Only one entry will be permitted per person.

How to Enter

6. The closing date for entries is 11:59 pm on 10 June 2024.

7. You should enter the competition by completing and submitting the online entry form at GardenersWorld.com/garden-competition, along with images of your garden. There is a minimum of 6 and a limit of 10 images per entry. Entries submitted without images will be rejected. Please ensure the images support your garden’s entry.

8. Entrants must supply to the Promoter, their full name, telephone number, email address and postal address. The Promoter will use entrants’ personal details in accordance with Immediate’s Privacy Policy (https://policies.immediate.co.uk/privacy/).

Judging

9. The BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine editorial staff will select a shortlist of the six best gardens from all of the entries using the following criteria:
• Creative use of the available space
• Design of the planting and way plants are used and combined
• Overall atmosphere created by the garden design or layout
• Use of materials including balance of hard and soft landscaping

10. If your garden is shortlisted as a finalist, you will be notified by telephone or email by 21 June 2024. In the event the Promoter cannot reach a shortlisted finalist within 28 days of notification, or the shortlisted finalist refuses to participate fully in the promotional activity connected with this competition, the Promoter reserves the right to choose a substitute.

11. A judging panel consisting of the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine editorial staff and at least one independent judge will choose one Judges’ Choice Award winner from the shortlisted entries. The judges will make their decision based on the professional photos and/or video that we arrange to be taken of the garden using the criteria described above.

12. A People’s Choice Award will also be voted for by the general public on gardenersworld.com from the shortlisted entries. The garden that receives the most votes will win the People’s Choice Award. Voting will be open on 11 October 2024 and close at 11:59 pm on 8 November 2024. One vote will be permitted per person.

13. The winners will be announced in BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and on gardenersworld.com and related social media channels on the following dates:
• Judges’ Choice Award winner – 11 October 2024; and
• People’s Choice Award winner – 13 December 2024.

Promotion and Publicity

14. By entering the competition you agree that your first name, the county of your garden and the images supplied with your entry may be used by the Promoter and Alpen. You confirm that you own the copyright to the images you submit and you hereby grant both the Promoter and Alpen a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use all images you submit in your entry throughout the world and in all media, including their publications, websites and social media channels in connection with the competition.

15. A shoot will be arranged for all of the shortlisted gardens to take photos and/or video of you and your garden (the “Content”) for promotional activities and features and for the final judging. This visit will take place between 21 June 2024 and 12 August 2024. Copyright in the Content will belong to the Promoter and the Promoter may withhold this Content from you. You will be required to sign a release form to confirm that the Promoter and any third parties that they work with, may use the Content throughout the world and in all media. You understand and agree that the Content may also feature the outside of your property where appropriate.

Prizes

16. Details of the prizes are set out below. The Judges’ Choice Award winner will be notified by telephone or email by 11 October 2024. The People’s Choice Award winner will be notified by telephone or email by 13 December 2024. In the event the Promoter cannot reach a winner within 28 days of notification, the Promoter reserves the right to offer the prizes to someone else from the shortlist, or to re-offer the prize in any future promotion.

17. There is no cash alternative and the prize will not be transferable. The Promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize with one of the same or greater value.

18. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence relating to the promotion will be entered into.

19. The Promoter does not accept any responsibility for incomplete, lost, delayed or fraudulent entries.

20. The Promoter excludes liability to the full extent permitted by law for any loss, damage or injury occurring to you arising from your entry into the competition or occurring to the winner(s) arising from their acceptance of a prize.

21. The Promoter reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions or to cancel, alter or amend the competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.

22. The competition is subject to the laws of England.

23. By entering the promotion, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Prizes

Judges’ Choice Award Prize
The Judges’ Choice Award winner will receive a TUI Travel Gift Card worth £7,000, which can be spent on a variety of travel opportunities including flights, hotels and cruises.

People's Choice Award Prize
The People’s Choice Award winner will receive a TUI Travel Gift Card worth £3,000, which can be spent on a variety of travel opportunities including flights, hotels and cruises.

Vouchers will be valid for 18 months from the date of issuance. Redemption of the prize is the responsibility of the winner(s) and may be subject to supplier availability at the time of booking. Any other expenses incurred in the use of and enjoyment of the prize, are the responsibility of the winner(s). It is the winner’s responsibility to check any passport, visa, insurance and health requirements are met.

All TUI travel gift cards are subject to the following terms and conditions:
1. Your TUI Travel Gift Card can be used as full or part payment for travel products at all TUI Stores (excluding the Republic of Ireland), tui.co.uk and firstchoice.co.uk. For website transactions, your gift card must have sufficient funds to cover the initial payment due when booking your holiday.
2. The card can’t be used as payment, or exchanged for, travel money-related products, including currency, travellers’ cheques and prepaid cards.
3. The card can’t be exchanged for cash or to buy another gift card.
4. The expiry date is printed on the reverse of your gift card. Your physical gift card expiry date will be at least one year from the date of your purchase. For digital gift cards, the expiry will be printed on your digital card and is two years from the date of purchase.
5. The maximum account balance allowed at any one time is £5,000 for physical gift cards and £3,000 for digital gift cards.
6. The card must be treated as cash, and the balance can’t be refunded if it’s lost, stolen or destroyed.
7. You can find out your balance by phone, in-store or on the web.
8. Cards can’t be redeemed over the phone.
9. Your gift card cannot be used in the Republic of Ireland or online at crystalski.co.uk
10. TUI Travel Gift Cards are not covered by ABTA’s scheme of financial protection.