Winners Of 2017 RHS Photographic Competition Revealed

'Spring', © Dianne English, Overall Winner 2017 RHS Photographic Competition

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has revealed the winners of the 2017 RHS Photographic Competition.

Dianne English, of New South Wales, Australia, was announced as the overall winner for her picture entitled 'Spring', and Tim Guiteras of California, USA, took the Young Winner prize for his picture, 'Nature’s Highway'.

This year’s competition saw over 11,000 entries across nine categories and 2017 also introduced the brand new Social Media category, allowing social media users to submit digital images via the RHS channels using the hashtag #RHSPhotoComp.

Judged by renowned gardening photographers Clive Nichols and Marianne Majerus, and Chris Young, Editor of RHS magazine The Garden, the winning entries were chosen for their ingenuity, creativity and technical fineness. 

The judges liked the colours and light in Dianne's image as well as the way the eye is led from sharply focused flowers at the front to the out of focus ones in the background. Tim was praised for his 'very clever composition' and the way he's played with the scale of the object in his image. 

'Nature’s Highway', © Tim Guiteras, Young Winner Prize 2017 RHS Photographic Competition

Commenting on the competition as a whole, Clive Nichols said: "We were spoilt for choice with the entries this year. The range of categories has seen a brilliant variety of images, all showcasing the beauty of the great outdoors. The quality this year was unrivalled so a big congratulations to the winners."

Marianne Majerus added: "Every year we see a mixture of newcomers and dedicated photographers putting forward their works exploring different styles, colours, composition and lighting for some truly breath-taking pictures. With this year’s new Social Media category, we hope the competition has inspired a new audience to get outdoors and be creative."

Chris Young, Chair of the judging panel, said: "It is fantastic to see such a wide-ranging display of images capturing the hidden beauty of horticulture and wildlife. Now on display for the first time at RHS Chelsea, the collection is a fantastic addition to the renowned show and I would like to thank everyone who took part and submitted their photos."

For the first time ever, a selection of images from each category will be on display at the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show before touring the four RHS Gardens: Wisley in Surrey, Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire, Hyde Hall in Essex and Rosemoor in Devon throughout summer and early autumn 2017.