Beautiful Japanese garden in Borders up for award

Hassendeanburn, near Hawick, is one of eight finalists in the 2023 BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s Gardens of the Year Competition.

Irene Berry, who is from Singapore, moved to Scotland in 2016.

And she has created a beautiful space in what was once a cobbled courtyard.

READ MORE: Grants of £270,000 distributed to Borders organisations

She said: “It was a lovely surprise for such a small garden tucked away in the Scottish Borders to be one of eight chosen.

“I’m from Singapore, not Japan, but I’ve always liked the serenity and calmness of Japanese gardens and this one makes me feel rooted to the Scottish Borders.

"I’m a great follower of the Gardeners’ World Magazine so when I read about the competition, I uploaded a few photographs of the garden to their website.

READ MORE: Improvements announced for Berwickshire bus services

“Then when I received the phone call to say that I’d been selected it came as a complete surprise. I asked whether it was a scam because the garden is so small but they said that the size did not matter.

“The magazine sent a professional photographer who spent two hours and although it had been raining buckets that day, he said the lighting was perfect.”

Photographs from the eight gardens can be viewed on the Gardeners’ World website and voting closes on Monday November 13.

READ MORE: A1 lane closure expected to remain in place for one month

The People's Choice winner will be announced in the January issue, which goes on sale on 21 December.

You can vote here: 

The winner will receive a three-night countryside hotel stay for two in the Mendips.