The team here at the Burn How garden house hotel in Bowness are the proud winners of this year’s Windermere in Bloom trophy.

They won the Lakeland Ltd cup and certificate for the best floral show. General assistant Melissa Steele collected the prize on behalf of the owners.

Our hotel has become famous for its secret garden, hidden away just one block from the lake at Bowness bay.

“Visitors are always surprised to see what lies within our grounds,” said owner Michael Robinson. “We are very proud of our garden, originally designed by Thomas Mawson, and now beautifully cared for by our head gardener John Cartmell.”

Many thousands of visitors to the Lake District will have admired the work of Mawson, the most prolific garden, park and landscape maker of Edwardian times. He designed, among many others, the magnificent  gardens at Holehird, the headquarters of the Lakeland Horticultural Society; the splendid grounds of Holker Hall; and the geometrically-precise formal gardens at Rydal Hall.

But this green-fingered landscape architect who designed parks and gardens for royal families in Europe, and lectured on garden design in the USA and Canada, was also responsible for the foundations of this small, hidden-away garden in the heart of Bowness.

“It’s lovely to see our work recognised, and to know that our gardens are so well appreciated,” said Michael.