Ashleigh Aylett and Callum Corrie will be competing for this year’s title of RHS Young Designer of the Year.

The two designers will be making their debut at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in what will be the 25^th anniversary of the event.

Aylett’s The Woodland Trust: 49% Garden will centre around 49% of trees being lost in the UK since 1850 due to pests, diseases and other threats. It will be built by Evergreen Cheshire.

Entertaining Meets Nature by Corrie – who is also a part-time wrestler – will provide a sustainable space for suitable for family and friends as well as wildlife and will be constructed by The Landscape Academy.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has also announced the first designers for a new category at this year’s show which highlights those who have switched careers. Show manager Lex Falleyn says they were noticing a trend in show garden applicants of those who had worked in different industries.

“As a career changer myself, I felt it was important to highlight the benefits of changing into the horticultural sector and these new gardens would make an inspiring companion category alongside RHS Young Designer of the Year. Landscape design requires a diverse range of skills and it’s been so interesting to see just how many skills are transferable.”

Three designers will compete for the title of RHS Career Changer of the Year after finding a later path into the horticultural industry.

Former police officer Chris Reynolds, who retrained in 2022, is creating The Safe Space Garden, an inclusive space for those who are recovering having been victims of crime, working with charity Victim Support. The garden will be relocated to one of its centres after the show.

Nadine Mansfield spent 25 years in marketing before retraining in 2020. She’s making her RHS debut with The Better New Build Garden to inspire those who own or develop new builds to better consider outdoor spaces for wildlife.

The third design – The RHS If a Tree Falls Garden – has been created by Jon Pilling, who was previously a higher-level teaching assistant. He will be exploring ways to minimise a garden’s impact on the planet, with planting inspired by the perennial movement.

The show gardens, terrace gardens and long borders at this year’s Tatton were announced last month.