Friday June 12th 2026
Keep Scotland Beautiful pocket garden
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
People across Scotland are being invited to view and vote for the inspiring winners of the 2026 annual Pocket Garden Design Competition via an online showcase by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful.
The online showcase www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/pocketgarden opened for voting on 12 June and will remain open until – 22 June 2026. Featuring images, video and stories of the winning designs, the showcase aims to share the practical and creative focus of pupils.
Earlier this year, in partnership with Garden for Life Forum, nursery and school pupils, aged three to 18, were invited to design a miniature pocket-sized garden which included food for people, were good for wildlife and reused something.
More than 170 entries from 24 local authority areas across Scotland were submitted, representing the work of whole classes and schools, all capturing fantastic imagination and creativity linked to the 2026 theme – fresh water. In total 26 designs were selected and pupils invited to build and grow their gardens highlighting fresh water as a precious resource that sustains life, and shapes so much of Scotland’s landscape, history and culture.
Eve Keepax, Education and Learning Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said:
“We’ve been running the Pocket Garden Design Competition for a decade, but once again the design entries, and the transformations from design to real gardens are full of joyful learning. I would like to congratulate all the pupils and educators.
“The competition provides a great way to connect children and young people with the natural world, food growing, and local wildlife while supporting Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability ambitions. We’re now calling for people across Scotland to vote for their three favourite designs, so we can recognise the public’s favourite Pocket Garden.
For more than a decade the Pocket Garden design competition has provided a great way to connect children and young people with food and nature. It showcases Scottish children and young people’s creativity, problem solving and practical skills. Schools tell us that it also connects children and young people to each other, working, learning and responding to challenges as a team. You can read their stores yourself in the online showcase”
Pocket Garden Design Competition aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Four, Learning for Sustainability and is run as part of our Climate Action Schools framework which supports schools towards achieving Target 2030, Scotland’s learning for sustainability action plan. It also gives pupils and educators a creative focus for learning for sustainability, STEM skills, and the Curriculum for Excellence while learning more about the climate and nature emergencies and having fun learning outdoors.
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