A STRIKING costal garden creation has scooped an award for two friends from Minehead at the Royal Horticultural Society's show at Tatton Park, Cheshire.
Fiona Johnson and Vanessa Cleg's entry Shifting Sands proved a hit with the judges who awarded them a silver medal in the small gardens section.
The green-fingered duo took 12 months to complete their garden which reflects British holidays by the sea and incorporates geological aspects that make up a coastline in the UK.
But they were both left waiting on tenterhooks until they just managed to secure sponsorship to cover the £5,500 costs before the show.
Money arrived with £3,000 from Jan Farmery Associates and local businesses including West Somerset Garden Centre and CJ Lynch.
Vanessa (pictured on the left), a film and theatre designer, and Fiona, who works at the West Somerset Garden Centre, included a beach chalet, a water feature, shingle beach and rocks in the garden.
Vanessa said: "This was the first garden we have designed but we had to wait until the final day before we received confirmation that the sponsorship was in place, which was real last minute tensions.
"We enjoyed every minute of creating the garden and were shocked but thrilled when we found out we had a silver medal."
They said the aim of the garden was to promote an interest in the preservation of native costal wildflowers and to raise awareness of environmental issues.
And their garden even caught the eye of the BBC Groundforce team which filmed Vanessa and Fiona ahead of the show.
The pair are already working on a design for next year's show and will be seeking sponsorship with a gold award as the next target.
Photo: Steve Guscott.