The RHS and The One Show are searching for the UK's best gardens in My Chelsea Garden 2021 – here's how to enter

Millions more of us have taken up gardening this year. If tending to your garden – or selection of house plants – has become your happy place, consider entering My Chelsea Garden 2021. 

For the second year running, BBC’s The One Show has teamed up with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to encourage the nation to share its gardening successes. Whether you've transformed your garden after being inspired by our garden design ideas or you've created a stunning raised garden bed for growing your own veg, you could be the next winner.

My Chelsea Garden 2021 categories

7,600 people applied in 2020, and this year promises to be bigger and better as more of us found sanctuary in our gardens. Prizes will be awarded to the following categories:

• Front Garden
• Back Garden
• Alternative Garden (house plants, window sills, balconies etc.)
• Community Garden (a single piece of land that has been gardened collectively by a group of people from more than one household).

So even if you don't have your own plot, you can take part. This year, an extra winner will be chosen from across the four categories for a special prize, ‘best in show’. This will be the judge’s choice and will be the entry that has best captured how gardening has helped us at this time.

Head of Judging at RHS Shows James Alexander Sinclair will be joined by fellow judges Monty Don and small gardens expert Isabelle Palmer. Head of The One Show Rob Unsworth and host Alex Jones will also be on the judging panel.

So, what exactly are they looking for? ‘We want to see ambition, originality, imagination, and excitement,’ James Alexander Sinclair says. 

‘We’re looking for color and texture, and visual impact. Anything that makes your garden stand out as special.’ It could be some clever container gardening ideas, landscaping ideas that create areas of interest - or how you've created in indoor oasis with some stunning indoor garden ideas. 

To enter, simply send in a current photo of your garden, taken between April 6th and April 18th, a short description of the space, and up to 200 words on how the garden has helped you over the past 12 months. Visit The One Show’s website for more details. The competition will close just before midnight on Sunday 18th April 2021.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed getting to look at our viewers’ gardens last year and I’m so excited to do it again in 2021,’ says Alex Jones.

Research by the RHS has shown that having a greener garden reduces stress levels, and can make you feel happier, more relaxed and closer to nature. So this is one competition where everyone is a winner, plus a great excuse to try out some of our favourite modern garden ideas.

The One Show is on every weekday, 7pm on BBC One.