
Children invited to create their dream garden in art competition
The competition is open to children up to the age of 16.
They are encouraged to create an A4 design of their dream garden, making it as colourful as the flowers around Aberglasney Gardens.
This can be done using pens, paint, crayons, or colouring pencils.
A poem about their dream garden can be submitted can also be submitted in addition or instead of a design.
The winning child will be able to bring a group of friends or family, or classmates if it is a school entry, for a bilingual and informative guided tour of Aberglasney by the Gardens' director, Helen Scutt.
The group will also be treated to lunch, prepared by the Tearooms.
Eleanor Keatley, acting chairman of Aberglasney's board of trustees, said: "The competition is a fitting tribute to the start of the residency of one of Aberglasney Gardens' long-standing supporters, Andrew Douglas-Forbes, who kindly agreed to judge last year's children's art competition which was part of our 25th anniversary celebrations."
Andrew Douglas-Forbes, who lives in Llandeilo, is a scholar of the Royal Academy of Music and a professional tenor.
He has a deep connection with Aberglasney, having been associated with the gardens since the 1990s.
He said: "I am very humbled and proud to accept the appointment of artist in residence at Aberglasney.
"I have long been associated with the gardens and have recently taken up space to create a large studio on the second floor of the mansion."
The competition closes at 4pm on Friday, June 20, 2025 and the winner will be announced the following week.
All entries will then be on display for visitors to enjoy.
Each entry, whether it is a piece of art or a poem, must have the name and age of the child, an email address of an adult that can be contacted on behalf of the child, and the name and contact details of the school (if entering via school) written on the back.
Entries can be posted or hand delivered to the Dream Garden Design competition at Aberglasney Gardens.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
Summerhall founder condemns apology over Kate Forbes event
He described the wording of a statement, which suggested Ms Forbes would be prevented from the Scottish Government-funded venue in future, as "idiotic" and "nonsense'. He insisted he would not have allowed it to be signed off had he still been responsible for Summerhall. Read more: Mr McDowell, who revealed he had attended the deputy first minister's event at Summerhall, said it would be 'impossible' for a Fringe venue to enforce any kind of ban on an individual taking part in future events. In an exclusive interview with The Herald, he suggested the main concerns for arts venues should be to ensure they operate within the law and uphold principles of freedom of speech. Robert McDowell has previously won Herald Angels Awards for his work at Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue Summerhall. (Image: Stewart Attwood) Summerhall Arts, which has taken over the running of shows and events at the venue from Mr McDowell, 'apologised unreservedly' to artists and performers appearing during the festival for the appearance of Ms Forbes in its programme. The deputy first minister, who was booked to appear as part of a series of political events organised by The Herald, has direct responsibility for the funding of Edinburgh's festivals as the culture secretary, Angus Robertson, represents the Edinburgh Central constituency. Ms Forbes announced £300,000 for funding aimed at 'safeguarding' the future of the Fringe in March, when she described the festival as 'one of Scotland's signature events.' Summerhall, which is now run by chief executive Sam Gough and a board led by Deborah Christie, secured public funding for the first time in January when Creative Scotland decided to allocate the arts charity more than £600,000 for the next three years. Ms Forbes spoke at Summerhall days after announcing she would not be standing in next year's Holyrood election, saying she wanted to focus more on family life. A devout Christian and a member of the Free Church of Scotland, Ms Forbes was criticised during her SNP leadership battle over her views on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights. The apology from Summerhall Arts, an arts charity formed months before the venue was put up for sale by Mr McDowell's family, said it should have considered the likelihood of Ms Forbes being booked for The Herald's Unspun Live events, and the 'understandable upset it would cause'. Alerting companies to the appearance of Ms Forbes hours before she was due to appear, the venue added: 'Our main concern is that cancelling the event could pose significant additional risk to the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ artists, staff and audiences by attracting those who share Kate Forbes' views outside of these walls to Summerhall. 'We do not believe LGBTQ+ rights, nor their existence, is up for debate. We recognise that the LGBTQ+ community make up a significant proportion of our artists, audiences and staff, and we have work to do to repair the damage from this oversight. 'At this stage, we can guarantee that we will be writing robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that prevent this from happening again.' Mr McDowell, who bought Edinburgh University's former vet school building to turn it into a year-round culture venue, said he was no longer involved in the programming or running of Sumerhall, but had been visiting every day during the Fringe to attend shows and events. Mr McDowell told The Herald: 'I've not been able to find out who issued that apology. I don't know who wrote it. If I had been asked, I would have said that it was nonsense. 'Of course, these things are up for debate. Everything is always up for debate. What are the arts if they don't allow freedom of speech? 'If somebody has an objection to something you don't ban it. You just turn up and ask a question or make a statement. It's an opportunity to say what you think. 'Whoever compiled that statement was just addressing their friends. It's part of a cancel culture kind of way of thinking. 'Some people sometimes take it upon themselves to sort of think that if the feel strongly enough about something there ought to be a law and if there isn't they will impose their views. 'Sometimes people feel that if someone has gone out on a limb they have to show a bit of a solidarity and then get carried away 'Unfortunately we all have to try to tolerate it and hope that will get over themselves at some point. "The idea that you could ever construct a way of doing this is idiotic. It would be possible. There's no way you could second guess artists or shows. 'I could see how the apology happened, but I thought it was silly and stupid. It's what happens when people rush to judgment. 'I don't like the way everybody rushed to judgment on JK Rowling. She can cope with that. I'm on her side, pretty much, but I can understand why some people aren't.' Mr McDowell drew a contrast between the apology over Ms Forbes and the efforts of long-time arts campaigner and promoter Richard Demarco to bring artists from around the world to Edinburgh. He was recently forced to move part of his archive from Summerhall, where he had been offered space by Mr McDowell after he opened the venue in 2011. He said: 'Demarco crossed the Iron Curtain more than 90 times, not because of propaganda or politics, but to embrace across the divides. That's we have to do in the arts, that is our job. 'One of the good things about the country and democracy we live in is freedom of speech, where can have debate and we can have discussion. 'What I do not like is where people do not want to have debate or do not want to discussion, or where they say: 'It's more important that I don't ever feel uncomfortable'. 'Venue management only have to apply the laws. They can have views and opinions, but they cannot censor. This is about freedom of speech.' Mr McDowell said he would be opposed to any attempt to ban elected politicians from speaking or being interviewed. He added: 'It's extremely important for freedom of speech for journalists to be able to question people in public, and to have further discussion and debates in public. 'I sat in on Kate Forbes' session. I think she is a lovely person. I used to enjoy meeting Alex Salmond, even though he and I had opposite views. I respected him. He was a real person.' Creative Scotland issued "dignity at work" guidance to all applicants for long-term funding. They state: "Everyone working in Scotland's creative and cultural sectors is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, whether they are an employee, freelancer, contractor, board member or volunteer. "Creative Scotland does not tolerate bullying, harassment, or victimisation under any circumstance, and expects the same of any organisation that we support with public funding. "Those applying for activity that involves employing other people should ensure that they have appropriate safeguards in place to ensure dignity at work, including approaches to ensure best practice in areas such as equality and diversity, harassment and bullying, disciplinary and whistle-blowing. "Our role is as a funder, and we do not have a regulatory role. However, we expect all grant recipients to take their responsibilities around safeguarding and dignity at work seriously when in receipt of public funds and failure to do so could result in payments being suspended or grants withdrawn." A spokesperson for Creative Scotland said: "We are in dialogue with Summerhall Arts to understand recent events and the steps they are taking to address concerns that have been raised." The Herald has teamed up with to make the purchase of tickets for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe so much easier. To buy tickets, please click here.


South Wales Guardian
2 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Llandovery sheep festival goes back to its woolly roots
The weekend-long festival, taking place on 20 and 21 September 2025 in Llandovery town centre, will highlight the wool industry and local sheep farming. It will also be a celebration of rural arts and crafts, local food and drink producers and live entertainment and performers. Rachel Everett, Chairman of the Festival, said, 'The Llandovery Sheep Festival is 15 years old this year and has gone from strength to strength since its inception. It is an event that's been wholeheartedly embraced by the people of Llandovery and its success is very much a reflection of that. "Events such as this are important to the rural community, not only in terms of bringing people together, but also in terms of showcasing the best of local produce, goods and services. "Thanks to the help of Lisa Denison, a local smallholder, we will have lots more sheep at this September's event in the expanded sheep marquee. It will be a vibrant hub of woolly wonder packed with fibre craft stalls, live demonstrations and, of course, a variety of sheep breeds.' The festival has been fortunate this year to have the support of the exceptionally talented illustrator and artist, Jack Skivens, who has recently moved to Llandovery with his family. Jack has generously used his skills to create brand new logos and imagery and will also create a brand new illustrated map for the festival which will highlight the charm, history and hidden gems of the town. Children will have their very own marquee at next month's event for the first time. There will be storytelling, crafts and entertainment especially for younger visitors. Llandovery Sheep Festival Village Show will return again on Sunday, 21 September in the Castle Hotel and entries must be handed in on the day by 10am. Locals are being asked to showcase their talents if they make their own jam, grow their own vegetables, bake, paint, craft or keep bees. The town's Market Square and Castle car park will be a kaleidoscope of colour during the event with exhibitors selling their wares from textiles, arts and crafts to locally produced food and drink. T The Llandovery & District Model Railway Club will be back in the Castle Garage Showroom with their magical model railways. Returning for this year's festival will be a programme of talks on the Saturday in the Castle Hotel, including the Climate Forum discussing the future of energy from 11am. Sheikh Ahmed will then offer a captivating journey through one of Wales' most powerful and mysterious legends – the Physicians of Myddfai from 2pm. From 3.30pm Nigel McCall, award-winning local photographer, is going to give a talk about his photography and his book 'Aberglasney Gardens – a calendar year'. To keep up to date visit the website at and follow on Facebook and Instagram. The festival is supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Tŷ Cerdd, the National Lottery and Welsh Government.


Scotsman
2 days ago
- Scotsman
Why it is good to see Edinburgh Book Festival embracing the BookTok generation
BookTok has become a mainstay of bookshops across the country - and it is bringing a love of reading to a new generation. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I spent Friday evening at the Edinburgh Book Festival, something that has become a near annual tradition ever since I went on trips with my school library as a child. No trip to the book festival is complete without a trip to the bookshop tent. This year there is a section for popular BookTok books, something that is becoming a familiar sight in bookshops up and down the country. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad BookTok started off as a subcommunity on TikTok, but more recently it has become shorthand for all social media content dedicated to books and reading. BookTok has brought a love of reading to a new generation. | Unsplash There has been an explosion in people's love for books since the pandemic. There are many reasons for this, but BookTok is one. A poll by The Publisher's Association found that 59 per cent of 16 to 25 year olds found a passion for reading thanks to BookTok. Forbes says #BooKTok has accumulated over 370 billion views. It is not without its critics. There are some who argue this is the end of 'proper' literature, as authors and publishers are sacrificing originality and creativity for the sake of online marketability. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This is true to a certain extent. There is a diminishing level of quality in some of the literature produced to help fuel the never-ending desire of the BookTok community. I have certainly read a fair number of BookTokbooks over the past year (that I have thoroughly enjoyed) that have been badly edited with spelling and grammatical errors. There are others where printing quality has fallen short of the mark because of speed. But this is no reason to deride the readers - this is on the publishing companies who need to remember to think about quality rather than solely on profit. It is also a rather simplistic view to assume all BookTok books are anti-intellectual and not as good as 'real' books. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Let's take The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller as an example (one of my favourite books) - it is a reimagining of The Iliad and one of the most popular BookTok books. The author spent around a decade writing the book, has a masters degree in classics and teaches Latin and Greek, and now hundreds of thousands of people are reading about ancient Greece thanks to social media. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has seen a spike in popularity thanks to BookTok, despite being published 200 years ago. Readers can hardly be criticised for indulging in this just because they were inspired by an influencer online. I understand not all BookTok books are like this. Many are romance books that are written like a popular trope checklist, published at rapid speed and even copying cover designs of other popular books to hit a certain audience. Some bookshops wrongly assume these trope-heavy, quick-read romances are all BookTok is, and therefore fill their BookTok section accordingly. But there is so much more to BookTok in reality and it is an unfortunate symptom of the somewhat misogynistic view of the kind of readers on these platforms. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Personally, it is great to see Edinburgh Book Festival embracing BookTok. It is bringing a love of reading to a new generation and that, whether it is a literary classic or a pop romance, should be celebrated.