The Sir Harold Hillier Award was given by the Hillier family to the then South Wight Borough Council to be presented annually for outstanding contribution to horticulture on the Isle of Wight. Harold Hillier was the key figure in creation of the Garden, on land given to the Council to be a public open space when the Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest was demolished.

The award itself is a piece of the famous Isle of Wight Studio Glass in a bespoke silver holder, engraved on the back with Kipling’s words: ‘And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away!’ The Friends are now its custodians and we have an impressive list of recipients in our Harold Hillier Hall of Fame.

1980: The first recipient was Mr Harold Hillier himself! He received the award at a meeting of councillors. Thanking councillors for the honour bestowed on him, Mr Hillier said that Ventnor was one of the best areas in Britain for the cultivation of certain species, and that there were probably about 1,000 plants, which he described as ‘tender’ that are now thriving there.

The intended smooth flow of annual awards has stuttered sometimes. After a couple of presentations it was awarded to Mr Harold Lanfear, lecturer at the Isle of Wight Technical College and who was instrumental in the creation of the Botanic Garden, but after his death the trophy remained with his widow for some time, until the Gifford family, descendants of Sir Harold, pushed to see it awarded once more.

The text on this page is based on the commendations made at the time of the presentations.

We were delighted to give the Harold Hillier Award this year to Ellen Penstone-Smith for the wonderful restoration of the walled garden at Farringford, which has turned it into a must-visit destination for Islanders and tourists alike. Truly ‘a significant contribution to Horticulture on the Isle of Wight’ as the citation for the award states. We were also very pleased to welcome Rob Mew, former Head of Horticulture at IOW College to our AGM to make the presentation to Ellen.

Rob received the Award himself in 2005 when he was described as ‘a propagator of people entering horticulture’. Ellen is one of those he propagated! She went on to study at Wisley and Kew before building a career on the mainland but returned to the Island with her husband Alastair to take on the Farringford project. Rob described the tranformation of Farringford from the bleak bare plot that Ellen and Alastair found in 2017 to the magnificent ‘Careless order’d Garden’ inspired by Tennyson as ‘a masterclass in plant associations and plant combinations’

Simon was appointed Curator of Ventnor Botanic Garden in 1986 and Deb became Nursery Manager.  Following the devastating hurricane of 1987, Simon took the opportunity to develop a garden very different, with naturalistic planting of flora from their place of origin, taking advantage of the unique microclimate of the Undercliff and pushing the boundaries of what could be expected to thrive outside. The regional gardens which now exist were the result – Mediterranean, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and America.  They shared knowledge, enthusiasm and skills with staff and volunteers alike; seeds were cleaned and distributed, ‘Ventnor’ cultivars were propagated, wonderful things were planted and many projects were carried out – not just in Ventnor but across the Island, from traffic Islands to hopyards.  Debs moved to Osborne House as Head Gardener and later became Head Gardener for (the then) Prince Charles at Highgrove.  Simon left VBG when the Isle of Wight Council decided to put the lease the Garden out to tender. He went on to be Curator of The National Botanic Garden of Wales and then Estate Manager at Folly Farm in Berkshire.  Now in retirement, in the village on the Island where they now live, the couple continue to make an impact on the local horticultural scene.

Jennie taught horticulture at the IoW College for 15 years, and was County Organiser of the NGS openings on the Island for 15 years. She has also won the RHS Banksian Medal numerous times. Rob Mew described the variety of situations she had embraced in working at the college
and Sally Peake added that Jennie’s productive garden is inspirational.
Jennie was the first to receive the new Harold Hillier Award certificate, as well as the glass trophy.

Presenting to this ‘star of the industry’, Chris Kidd referred to Mike’s wonderful power of persuasion in getting horticultural projects off the ground, citing VBG’s Garden on Platform 2 of Ryde Pier: “His involvement with projects, particularly involving young people, is breath taking. The ‘Discovery Days’ that he runs at Kew have had over 600 participants, introducing horticulture to people . . for the first time. He’s brought in people across the industry to assist.”

John created his wonderful garden at Northcourt completely from scratch, while chairing the IoW Gardens Trust. He positioned every plant, tree and shrub to thrive, and most of the manual labour involved was his own. John explained how he had gradually taken over all of the garden at Northcourt, to fulfil its potential, and how he and his wife Christine have opened it to the public every year under the NGS for 38 years.

The obvious recipient for his tremendous support for Chris Kidd, and the Garden in general. Colin spent time maintaining and updating the VBG database. “Plants coming in have name labels – but not necessarily the correct ones,” Colin explains. “It can take some detective work to find out what the plant should be called.”

Stan had started his horticultural career as an apprentice with the South Wight Borough Council – a ‘golden era for horticultural training’ according to Chris Kidd. Stan was currently working for the large company responsible for parks and open spaces on the Island. Chris said: “Despite the gradual decline in local government resources, his solid training has enabled him to keep up his standards. Without the wisdom of a lesser individual than Stan those parks would not be there and look like they do now.” Ventnor Park had won the prestigious Park of the Year twice in the previous five years at the South and South East England In Bloom, and has won Gold and Silver Gilt awards.

Richard is a journalist. Stalwart friend of the Garden and of the Friends, Richard had stepped down from his Gardening page at the Isle of Wight County Press after 16 years – he’d been with the CP for 30 years in total. Richard could be called upon whenever the Friends wanted publicity for a fundraiser. “I liked to support organisations like VBG and the National Garden Scheme, run on a shoestring by people who care.” Presented by VBGFS patron Gilly Drummond.

Val, who is an ecologist was the worthy recipient for the success of her wildlife farm Wild Tracts at Shalfleet. She converted the arable fields back to traditional hay meadows full of wild flowers, and preserved the woodland glades. By 1996 it was made a local Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. In 2005 it was accepted into Higher Level Stewardship, a scheme monitoring biodiversity across British and European islands. The land retains rare and endangered birds, mammals and insects vital for pollination. Val also works with the Hampshire & IW Wildlife Trust, Natural England and other organisations.

It was jolly difficult to keep the award a secret from its intended recipient. Rosemary, still Friends’ Communications Officer, was just retiring from many years’ service as Honorary Secretary – but it was for so much more that she was given the HH. The oldest member of the Committee was and is the most tech-savvy with her newsletters, beautiful photographs and digital photography archive. She welcomes and befriends new people.

For all the service given to the Garden as Chairman of the Friends and since. He had supported the Friends through all the uncertainty of the transition from Council ownership. Chris Kidd made a warm and heartfelt speech. Presentation by Chris’ father, Friends’ President Brian Kidd.

For opening her lovely garden at Salterns, Seaview every year for the National Gardens Scheme and other charities. Until retirement, having sold her school in London, she had not a great deal of time to care for her Isle of Wight garden. It was doing an RHS course at VBG that spurred her on to work hard on it and make it beautiful. Presented by Brian Kidd.

The 40th Birthday Party of Ventnor Botanic Garden seemed the perfect time to honour a plantsman for his dedication. Keith had actually cleared the original site for the Garden, and has been a stalwart supporter ever since. Fittingly the award was presented by Brian Kidd in the presence of John Hillier, son of Sir Harold.

The award was presented in a private ceremony of which no record survives, however, in February 2025, Sally Peake surprised Ken, a well-known local nurseryman who specialises in breeding award-winning Nerines, with his copy of our new Award winner’s certificate.

Simon said there was no difficulty in deciding on Jonyth: she had worked tirelessly for many years, not just for the Friends but also for many other plant groups on the Island. “She is an unsung hero, and deservedly wins the Island Glass trophy this year,” he said.

For his tremendous contribution to horticulture at the Isle of Wight College. The trophy was presented by Mr Tom Gifford, a cousin of the Hillier family. Jonyth Hill gave a review of all the work Rob did to propagate new people entering the horticultural life, praising his dedication to his students and enthusiastic encouragement.

Pat had been very involved with the Friends, particularly with setting up the Friends’ library. Rather self-deprecatingly Pat says Simon Goodenough proposed her in response to the desire of the Giffords to see the vase awarded again – but this was far from the truth as the VBGFS committee gladly agreed she was a worthy recipient. The trophy was presented by Simon Goodenough to Pat at the AGM of the Gardens Trust on 2nd June 2004.