A Swindon couple's garden built completely from scratch has been ranked the second best in the country.

Elizabeth and Eric Winiarski entered their back garden into the B&Q Gardener of the Year competition earlier this year.

The competition was won by Matthew Symonds from Bristol.

Despite missing out on first place, the Wiltshire couple are delighted but admitted forgetting they had even entered the contest.

“They phoned me up and told me the news which came as a total shock because I just happened to notice the competition” said Elizabeth.

Swindon Advertiser: The couple built the garden entirely from scratch.The couple built the garden entirely from scratch. (Image: Dave Cox)

“I completely forgot about it and I wasn’t even going to pick up the phone as I didn’t recognise the number.

“It didn’t sink in straight away but it was a wonderful surprise.”

The 59-year-old and her husband were awarded £1,000 and also named as having the best showstopping garden.

“I don’t know know what made them pick ours but I believe the variety of plants and the way they were coordinated helped,” said Elizabeth.

“We have lots of alliums, ferns and pleached trees which gives us total privacy from our neighbours.

Swindon Advertiser: The garden also won best showstopping garden.The garden also won best showstopping garden. (Image: Dave Cox)

“Both Eric and I like the circle shape as it helps maximise space as it isn’t the biggest garden in the world.”

The couple moved into their home in 2016, there was no garden but instead major drainage problems.

“It was a blank canvas and we had a real problem with drainage, so we took out the soil and installed French drainage,” said Elizabeth.

“There wasn’t a single plant in there so we drew out the garden to scale and took two whole weeks off to construct it, waking up in the early morning and working by torchlight.

“It makes us so proud that we started from scratch as we saw it developing over the years and you just feel satisfied.”

Swindon Advertiser: The garden has a unique circular design to maximise space.The garden has a unique circular design to maximise space. (Image: Dave Cox)

Gardening has been a longstanding passion for Elizabeth but Eric was not as keen until recently.

“As a child I always loved gardening, offering to do a neighbour’s garden at the age of 14 years old,” she said.

“My husband wasn’t interested in gardening when we met but he has acquired a real interest in it recently.

“This competition has really excited him about gardening as he was absolutely thrilled to bits when we found out the result.”