2011 International Garden Photographer of the year - in pictures

UK-based photographer Colin Roberts was named the competition's overall winner for his image of sea thrift flowers taken at Widemouth Bay, Cornwall, entered in the wildflowers category. Judge Clive Nichols said: 'This image struck me immediately - the depth of field is superb, leading the eye from the beautifully backlit flowers in the foreground all the way to the sea on the horizon, giving a great sense of depth to the picture and placing the thrift in context' Photograph: Colin Roberts/IGPOTY

Second place in the wildflowers category went to Christopher Bestall for his picture of orchids and buttercups on Bromyard Downs, Herefordshire. He said: 'This picture has been on my "to do" list for a long time, but I needed evening light, with a low sun and interesting clouds to set the scene and backlight the flowers. With perfect conditions I placed the slope of the Downs and the town beyond in the background. The long shutter speed required a tripod, and the aperture was chosen to allow some differential focus on the foreground. A light graduated neutral density filter was used to retain detail in the sky. The picture was taken minutes before the sun disappeared below the horizon' Photograph: Christopher Bestall /IGPOTY

Roberts also won third place in the wildflowers category with this picture of the blue flowers of viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare), taken around sunrise in mid-summer, near Winchester in Hampshire. 'I crouched very low down with a tripod so that the flowers were seen in profile against the misty landscape beyond' Photograph: Colin Roberts/IGPOTY

Winner of the trees, woods and forests category was Leszek Paradowski with The Beech with a Human Face. 'This tree is revealed in all its glory when the crown is devoid of leaves. Using a wide angle lens and placing the camera on the ground allowed me to show the full splendour of this unique tree. After the first few frames I noticed the unusual scratches on the bark, resembling a human face, then I stopped the session for a moment and silence fell' Photograph: Leszek Paradowski /IGPOTY

Second place in the trees category was Michael Brown for Trees and their Shadows from Above, taken in Wisconsin, US. 'One day while flying in a commercial jet, I looked down and saw how the shadows cast by trees on a golf course revealed their shapes. A short time later, after a fresh snowstorm, I hired a pilot and airplane and went aloft searching for a good stand of trees to photograph. I opened the airplane window and used a zoom lens to select different groupings of trees while the pilot circled the plane. The most interesting compositions were found when I was shooting directly into the sun and the shadows looked like reflections' Photograph: Michael Brown/IGPOTY

Third place for trees went to Peter Straw for Autumnal Red Oak. 'The picture was an attempt to capture the vividness and saturated colours of autumn. Using natural light, I photographed an oak leaf on an old baking tray, which had been strategically scratched. I shot five separate exposures, from +2 stops to -2 stops, in one stop intervals. I kept the same aperture throughout but altered the shutter speed.It was a photographic technique new to me, which allows one to maximise the colour and texture of a subject, and I thought it would really do justice to any autumn colour' Photograph: Peter Straw/IGPOTY

Winner of wildlife in the garden, Tadpole by David Chapman. 'A tadpole of a common frog, Rana tamporaria, resting on an aquatic plant under water. I was photographing the life-cycle of the common frog and I think this was the most photogenic stage in its development. I loved the way the tadpole pushed up the meniscus of the water surface from underneath. I used a vivarium and rested the stem of an aquatic plant inside. I introduced the tadpole and waited for it to climb the stem and touch the underside of the meniscus' Photograph: David Chapman/IGPOTY

Wildlife in the garden category, second place, Radim Schreiber, Fireflies, taken in Fairfield, Iowa, US. 'I worked on a whole series of images last summer. I did not add or subtract fireflies from this photo. Everything is natural, one-exposure photography. The red glow is a natural glow of a nearby town. Using a relatively fast shutter speed allowed me to capture the fireflies’ own strong glow' Photograph: Radim Schreiber/IGPOTY

Third place in the wildlife in the garden category, Chrr! - Olegas Kurasovas's image of a grasshopper rubbing its legs in the dewy grass, was taken in her garden near Vilnius, Lithuania. 'I tried to capture how a grasshopper's legs move when it is making its distinctive sound' Photograph: Olegas Kurasovas/IGPOTY

Winner in the plant portrait category went to Mandy Disher for her image of 'Choca Mocha’ (Cosmos atrosanguineus). 'These flowers fill the late afternoon air with a delicious vanilla chocolatey scent, attracting pollinators such as butterflies and bees. It’s an easy-to-grow, half-hardy tuberous rooted perennial, native to Mexico. I was inspired to capture the cosmos because of its beautiful rich burgundy tones and its velvety textured petals' Photograph: Mandy Disher/IGPOTY

Second place in the plant portrait category was Gerard Leeuw with Autumn is Coming, taken in Ermelo, the Netherlands. 'This is Oudemansiella mucida, usually found on beech trunks from August until November. I like fungi. I was really concentrating on them on that day and wanted to catch the bluish light. As the image needs to express autumn, I wanted the branches in the picture as well. And then I thought of the multiple exposure feature to give the image a somewhat mystical touch' Photograph: Gerard Leeuw/IGPOTY

Third in the plants portrait category, Sam Scott-Hunter with Passion Flower Tendril. 'I photographed this passion flower in several different ways, including the flower itself. However, I loved the curves and springiness of the tendril when seen separated slightly from the rest of the plant and isolated against the black background. I spent a long time lighting the tendril and leaves to really bring out the curves of the tendril and the veins of the leaf' Photograph: Sam Scott-Hunter/IGPOTY

Winner of the garden views category, Marianne Majerus with Abstract Impressions of a Secret Garden. 'An image of images: the panes of glass, framed in lead, playfully distort the secret garden outside and create an Impressionist collage, each pane with its own unique character and hue. The nostalgic feeling is enhanced by the promise of the scented rose garden beyond. I really liked the way the garden had transformed the glass into a wonderfully intricate stained glass window, and I wanted to capture an image composed of many smaller images' Photograph: Marianne Majerus/IGPOTY

Garden views, second place: Break in the Clouds by Andrea Jones taken at Ardentinny, Loch Long, Scotland. 'Sunlight breaks through dark clouds illuminating the garden belonging to one of the Swedish Houses. The light was my inspiration! I loved the simplicity and style of this artist's garden and the colours of the gate, furnishings and summer house. Knowing Scottish weather, I thought if I waited long enough the clouds might eventually break. Luckily the hospitable garden owners allowed me to stay until I got the result I wanted. At the first sign of light I ran upstairs to shoot from my tripod-mounted camera, which was ready by the window' Photograph: Andrea Jones/Garden Exposures Photo Library/IGPOTY

Garden views, third place: James Kerr with Pollarded Willows, taken at a private garden in Warwickshire. 'The pollarded willows stand silhouetted almost like tropical palm trees in this landscape of early morning mist. The moment passed in just a few seconds. Shortly afterwards the countryside colours emerged to their full strength in summer sunlight. This picture is taken looking out over a ha-ha to meadowland. The row of seats that look out over the landscape give scale to the subject. I have been photographing this garden regularly for the owner so when I arrived before sunrise I knew where potentially good shots were to be had. This image was one of those lucky moments that rarely comes and I knew immediately after taking it that I had something special' Photograph: James Kerr/IGPOTY

The people in the garden category was won by Brad Mailer with Garden Jumper. 'This image shows my daughter, who is jumping between a raised garden bed to the left, comprising ten various floribunda roses and flower pots, to the right, comprising various hybrid teas and David Austin roses. My main goal was to show how an environment that is attractive and interesting enough to be explored can encourage today's children to enjoy it the same way they did in past generations. For me, this image was easy to accomplish. I knew the light was best in the evening, so I waited until my subject was already in location at that time and I then approached her and asked her to show me some games she likes to play. It was then up to me to present them in the best way' Photograph: Brad Mailer/IGPOTY

Second place in this category was Ute Klaphake with Unmistakable Similarities. 'It’s often said that dogs and their owners look similar, but see, it works with vegetable growers too. This image was taken to highlight healthy home-grown vegetable gardening in winter. The size of the curly kale variety inspired me to show the gardener next to his plant' Photograph: Ute Klaphake/IGPOTY

People in garden, third place: Mr and Mrs Wright and Friends by George Wright. 'Rogers, a retired coal miner, had just won the annual allotment competition. His prize was a set of shiny new garden implements. He posed for me with them proudly displayed and had brought his wife and grandchildren along for the photograph. The neighbouring allotment holder, Albert, came over to survey proceedings, and so of course he had to be included in the picture too' Photograph: George Wright/IGPOTY

Jamie Unwin won the Young Garden Photographer of the year award with this image of a mouse on wild wheat. 'I took this photo on a summer’s eve just at the corner of my garden where we have allowed it to return to its natural state where we have wild wheat growing along with other grass species and flowers.This curious harvest mouse was incredibly friendly and enjoyed interacting with me and my camera. I spent the whole afternoon playing with the little guy, waiting until I could grab an interesting photo of this usually shy animal. It was only just as the sun faded from sight that I managed to get an image in focus' Photograph: Jamie Unwin/IGPOTY

In second place was Maria Gendelman with this image of Richmond Terrace, south-west London. 'This photograph shows Terrace Gardens, looking down from Richmond Hill, in winter. I spent most of my childhood at the beautiful garden, seeing the park as a magical place where there were goblins, fairies and sometimes even spies. As I grew older I became very sentimentally attached to the place and wanted to portray how I imagined and saw the gardens as a child. I took the photograph as the sun was setting and used post-processing to enhance the colours of the photograph, creating a magical atmosphere that was similar to the one that I spent hours on end imagining in my childhood' Photograph: Maria Gendelman/IGPOTY