Jephson Gardens' upkeep has won a 2026 BALI National Landscape Award, one of four for public parks, in the year it held its 20th straight Green Flag.
The team that looks after Jephson Gardens has won a national award. The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) has named idverde a 2026 National Landscape Award winner for its work on the Leamington park.
idverde is Warwick District Council’s grounds maintenance contractor. It has looked after the gardens with the council since 2013.
Where it sits nationally
The award is in BALI’s category for grounds maintenance of places the public can visit for free. BALI’s 2026 winners list has four winners in that category:
| Contractor | Site |
|---|---|
| idverde | Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa |
| idverde | Stormont Estate, Belfast |
| Bowles & Wyer | Duke of York Square, London |
| YGS Landscapes | Sherford, Devon |
So Jephson Gardens shares the category with a Chelsea shopping square and the grounds of Northern Ireland’s Parliament Buildings.
The winners go to a ceremony on Friday 4 December in London, according to the National Landscape Awards site. In past years BALI has used the ceremony to pick a Principal Award from the winners in each category, so there is a further prize still to come.
What the gardeners and the council said
Timothy Mcgibbon, idverde’s contract manager in Warwick, said the team was “immensely proud” to win in BALI’s 50th anniversary year.
“Jephson Gardens is a wonderful example of what can be achieved by skilled teams, strong client partnerships and a shared commitment to creating high-quality public spaces for people and nature,” he said.
Councillor Will Roberts, the council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood, said the award “celebrates the care, expertise and pride that goes into caring for and maintaining Jephson Gardens”.
Twenty years of Green Flags
The award lands in a strong year for the park. In July the council announced that Jephson Gardens had held a Green Flag Award for the 20th year running. Green Flag is Keep Britain Tidy’s national standard for parks.
Four green spaces in the district hold the flag:
Jephson Gardens and the Pump Room Gardens also kept their Green Heritage Site accreditation, run with Historic England, for looking after their historic features. Oakley Wood and Crackley Wood are nature reserves managed with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
The gardens are part of the Spa Gardens, which Historic England lists at grade II on its Register of Parks and Gardens. We covered the park’s history, and its new QR-code tree trail, in our earlier story.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes on the ground. The gardens stay free to enter.
- If you want to see the work the judges rated, the autumn beds and the 23 labelled trees on the tree trail are there now.
- New public space rules start in the district’s parks on 4 November, including a ban on barbecues. Our guide to the new orders explains what changes.
Sources: Warwick District Council news releases of 24 September and 16 July 2026; BALI National Landscape Awards 2026 winners list and awards site; Historic England list entry 1000498.
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