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Hampshire designer Sarah Eberle who travelled half-way across the world to enter an extra-ordinary competition to build peace gardens is delighted with the news of her silver medal win at Japan’s Gardening World Cup today (Friday 7 October).

Competing alongside 16 of the world’s very best garden designers Sarah Eberle was told by the judges that she narrowly missed a gold medal for her ‘Finding Unity’ garden.

Commenting on her win Sarah said: "Given the circumstance I am happy with my silver medal and even though I just missed out on a gold, my garden is a very solid and professional one. The standard here is high and each garden is different which you don’t always get at the British shows. Whilst there is always a subjective aspect to gardens, I think they are all good gardens and the right medals went to the right people giving confidence in the results."

Despite torrential rain, mosquitos and birch trees that are dying as they have not been properly lifted, Sarah had just ten days to build her garden from scratch.  Unlike any other gardening event, the designers have had to use their build time to check on and source plants and trees, meet and brief the construction teams and produce a garden of world cup standards which could be on show for as long as four months when one week is the norm. They all have had the same tight budgets to work too.

A total of 16 designers were picked to represent 12 countries and five continents giving visitors the chance to see ‘peace’ gardens by the world’s best designers.

The Gardening World Cup takes place in the South East of Japan in a 17th century Dutch replica theme park Huis Ten Bosch. With its proximity to Nagasaki, the theme is deliberately, ‘gardens for world peace and a prayer for Japanese recovery’. This year it is being held in aid of the victims of the Japanese Tsunami. Last year’s event saw 100,000 people visiting in the first week. It was so popular that it was extended by a further three months. This year’s show opens today (Sat 8 October).

There are four gold medal winner: Jim Fogarty - Best in Show (Australia); Lim in Chong (Inch) who also won ‘Best Design’ and ‘Best Interpretation of the Peace Theme’ (Malaysia); Ryoji Fujiwara - Best construction (Japan) and John Cullen (USA).

And three other silver medals went to Britain’s Jo Thompson (representing Italy), David Davidson (South Africa) and Kazuyuki Ishihara (Japan). Nico Wissing (Netherlands) and Jonathan Denby (UK) took home bronze medals.

Sarah’s next equally ambitious project is a show garden for the Singapore Garden Festival July 2012.

For more information about the gardening world cup visit: gardeningworldcup.com and for Sarah’s website: saraheberle.com

For all media queries please contact: Emma Dewhurst 07964 686682: emmadew@gotadsl.co.uk.

Photo attached, taken by Sarah, of her garden. She comments that” it’s amazing how show gardens attract wildlife and so soon. The plant is Eupatorium purpureum Variegated and the butterflies are just beautiful and not at all shy”.