Nadine Mitschunas from near Wallingford is one of three people whose gardens are in the running for the ‘Best of the best’ edition of the garden of the year awards.

This year’s competition, the 10th, has a unique twist: every contender is a previous finalist, bringing together standout gardens from the last decade of the awards.

Ms Mitschunas was nominated by the magazine’s readers alongside Pam Woodall from Dorset, as well as Jo and Andi Butler from Shropshire.

She was previously the 2021 Judge’s Choice winner.

Nadine Mitschunas from near Wallingford (Image: BBC Gardeners World)

Representing a broad range of gardening styles from across the country, each of the finalist gardens shows creativity, dedication and a passion for plants.

The overall winner will be chosen by a panel of expert judges, to be announced in the October issue of BBC Gardeners’ World.

The panel includes garden designer and BBC Gardeners’ World presenter, Arit Anderson; garden designer and author, Ann-Marie Powell, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine content director, Kevin Smith, and head gardener at Crocus, Ashley Edwards.

READ MORE: Cotswolds pub in liquidation had £500,000 debts

Mr Smith said: “Reaching the top three is a huge achievement, especially in this special anniversary year.

“These gardens truly represent the very best from the past decade and showcase the creativity, dedication and passion of our readers. Choosing a winner from such an exceptional group won’t be easy.”

Nadine Mitschunas finalist in Gardeners World magazine Gardens of the Year 2021 competition GOTY 190721 19072021 19/07/21 19/07/2021 19 19th July 2021 Summer location Oxfordshire photographer Jason Ingram (Image: Jason Ingram)

BBC Gardeners’ World previously said about Ms Mitschunas’ garden: “This really is a garden for our times, reflecting the care that so many gardeners have poured into creating spaces for wildlife to thrive.

“Our winner has achieved this to a high level of perfection but not forgotten the need to make an atmospheric space to simply live in and enjoy.

“With mostly plants rather than landscaping used to create the space, it’s a thrifty and achievable blueprint for many others to follow.”

Ms Mitschunas works as a pollinator ecologist and started to cultivate her overgrown and unloved plot in 2010.

Last year, the BBC reported that Ms Mitschunas was the UK’s first rice grower.

The crops in her four small paddy fields were able to grow due to the hottest summer on record last year.

She said: “Nobody has tried this before, but with climate change, we have crops that, 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have thought would be viable.

“In 10 years time, rice could be a completely perfect crop for us.”

The experiment was the idea of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

“I’m actually amazed because they are big, happy, bushy plants,” she added.

North and West Oxfordshire politicians penned the letter to transport minister Heidi Alexander, who incidentally was a victim of one of Oxfordshire’s potholes last month.

The detailed proposals ask for a £20bn investment in repairs and reinstatement of roads across the country, and particularly in Oxfordshire.

The councillors have made the case that the recently announced additional funding for tackling potholes is not enough overall and the share that Oxfordshire will receive will not be sufficient.

Councillors have also invited Ms Alexander to visit Oxfordshire to see for herself the state of Oxfordshire’s roads, not just on the B4437 outside Burford which punctured a tyre of her Mini.

Councillor Ian Middleton (Image: Ian Middleton)

Green group county and Cherwell district leader Ian Middleton said: “After years of neglect and underfunding by successive governments, we now need definitive action and proper funding to deal with the state of our roads and footpaths.

“Government financial input to the County budget for road maintenance is simply not at a level that is sustainable in the long term, and the result is a continued deterioration year on year.

READ MORE: Cyclist sexually assaults woman in ride-by attack

“We are now literally patching the patches, and after another winter of bad weather coupled with an increase in heavier vehicles, our roads are now in a state of total collapse that local authorities are not equipped or funded to deal with.

“We need a financial commitment from central government to facilitate an urgent roads reset.”

Rosie Pearson of the West Oxfordshire Greens (Image: Rosie Pearson)

West Oxfordshire District Council Green group leader Rosie Pearson added: “Many of us have suffered from damage and frustration from the state of our roads, especially after January’s severe weather.

“Nobody thinks this is acceptable. The Green Party approach is to look at the underlying causes of a problem, in order to find a permanent fix.”

North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Liz Reason said the cause of potholes needs to be tackled in a “systemic” way.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander (Image: Yui Mok/PA)

And North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Barry Wheatley added: “Years of patch-and-pray repairs have left our roads crumbling – damaging vehicles and putting pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at risk.

“It’s time for government and Oxfordshire to stop papering over the cracks and invest in roads built to last.”

Oxfordshire County Council has started repairs of 87 roads as part of its £8m improvement programme.

The now former transport chief Andrew Gant said in March: “Reactive pothole repairs are expensive and inefficient.

“Preventative maintenance, such as surface dressing, is far better value and stops potholes forming in the first place.”

Roman Gerashchenko from Oxford said that his friend was travelling from Abingdon to the airport at around 3am this morning (Thursday, May 22) when the animal was spotted. 

His pal was on the A4130 and passing through Henley when he encountered a strange sight.

What appeared to be a kangaroo could be seen, hopping along the road alongside the car.

READ MORE: Sex, celebrity gnomes and David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show

This is the shocking moment that a ‘kangaroo’ was spotted hopping along a road in Henley, Oxfordshire, at around 3am this morning. Video sent in to @TheOxfordMail by Roman Gerashchenko. 😳 🦘 pic.twitter.com/zQnSrMJ79C

— Edward Burnett (@edwardburnettt) May 22, 2025

“Mr friend saw the creature first at the entrance to Henley and was in shock.

“His second thought was that if it was a kangaroo, he would not swim in the Thames here because he might meet a crocodile.”

Footage was recorded of the incident which shows the animal freely hopping around on the road in the early hours.

Roman remains unsure as to whether the animal was a kangaroo, wallaby or something else but was shocked nonetheless by the footage.

READ MORE: National UK restaurant chain to close 23 sites after administration

The ‘kangaroo’ hopping along the road in Henley. (Image: Roman Gerashchenko)

This is not the first time that a wild animal has been spotted in a town or city in the county in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, the public was warned after a large “python” snake was spotted at a beauty spot in Oxford.

A dog walker, who asked not to be identified, saw the snake while walking his pet at Port Meadow at 12.45pm on Tuesday, April 29.

Photographs sent to this newspaper showed a man in the main bathing area with what appeared to be a large python wrapped around his torso.

After concerns were expressed by the public, Oxford City Council warned the public to contact Thames Valley Police if the snake is spotted out in public again.