At six years old, Norwich born Jon Kelf was hardly tall enough to reach the handles but was pushing his father’s lawnmower. Little did his father realise what a gardening influence he had been. Over thirty years later in 2007, after travel to many exotic places, Jon opened his 26ft by 60ft Jungle Garden to raise money for the worthwhile charities of the Norfolk National Garden Scheme.

Now not only has Jungle Garden been voted as “Best Garden in Britain” in a competition run by the Daily Mail but owner Jon Kelf is in the finals of BBC Gardeners World “Gardener of the Year” competition voting commencing on October 9th BBC2 8.30.

The Jungle Garden is a small town garden with five levels of decking surrounded by dense, lush exotic planting. It has over two hundred different and unusual types of plants including palms, bamboos, bananas, gingers, cannas and more.

Jungle Garden was placed in the spotlight in its first year appearing on BBC and ITV news and the local press. Now opening in its second year Jon has had much more to celebrate. Only weeks later after being voted “Best Garden of the Year” in a competition run by the Daily Mail, Jon was selected as a finalist in BBC Gardeners World “Gardener of the Year”.

Each of five finalists was filmed demonstrating propagation techniques and completing a planting challenge. This film has been broadcast on the Gardeners’ World programme and online over five successive weeks commencing on the 11th September, with Norwich Jon Kelf appearing on the third episode on the 25th September. Following transmission of the fifth candidate’s film, voting will be opened to the public.

It will also be voted on by a panel of professional judges who provide half of the overall score with the other half from the public vote in order to determine the ultimate winner. The announcement of the winner will be revealed at Greenacre and broadcast on Friday 23rd October with all five finalists present.

Jon Kelf said “It is an unbelievable year. I am so thrilled that Jungle Garden has received such prestigious recognition. I never imagined it would achieve such a status. However the BBC Gardeners World planting challenge and filming was quite nerve wrecking and also to appear on Gardeners World at Greenacre. The highlight would have to be seeing Toby Buckland and Alys Fowler sitting on the sofa on the decking, admiring the view in my garden!, quite unreal. It is once again up to the public to vote but it will be interesting to compare gardens, styles and techniques. If it wasn’t for the NGS and people visiting my garden saying lovely things, I don’t think I ever would have got this far as it has given me much more confidence with the way I’ve designed and built my garden. I would recommend it to anyone to get in touch with the NGS if they are thinking of doing so – you never know what could happen. ”

Norfolk NGS County Organiser Anthea Foster said “It is excellent and deserving news for Jon Kelf. The Norfolk NGS encourage its garden owners to be proactive marketing themselves. This in itself shows what can be achieved. The garden owners give so much time to opening, not just gardening but promoting their open days and providing visitors with a great day out while raising money for the NGS and local charities. It is a great acclaim for Jon Kelf and the Jungle Garden, but also for Norwich, Norfolk and the Norfolk National Gardens Scheme. It has been an exceptional year with brilliant weather and an increase in visitor numbers. This is an excellent way to end the 2009 Norfolk NGS Open Garden season.”

For more details or to vote for Jungle Garden visit www.norfolkgardens.org