The Jury of the European Award for Ecological Gardening 2019

1. Zuzana Ambrožová, Ph.D./CZ, lecturer at Mendel University in Brno, landscape architect

Zuzana Ambrožová teaches and supervises courses at the Department of Landscape Architecture of the Mendel University in Brno. She is the author of several professional publications. During her doctoral studies and academic work, she has held several foreign internships (Austria, Germany, Finland, Italy, Thailand, USA, Canada, China etc.). She is the designer of several urban landscape projects and private gardens in collaboration with architects. In her practice, she emphasizes the cooperation and dialogue between the architect and the landscape architect, and has regularly participated in architect competitions. She shows professional enthusiasm in the annual lectures for a lot of European universities and in her radio and television appearances.

2. Margit Beneš-Oeller/AUT
“Natur im Garten“ advisor, landscape planner, specialist author on gardening

Margit Beneš-Oeller is a landscape planner and an advisor to “Natur im Garten“. Being a technical author on the topic of gardening, she also writes articles on ecological green spaces for the initiative “Natur im Garten“, among others. Her particular interests lie in near-natural and creative garden design, the use of herbs and other plants, as well as in plant photography. At the Donau-Universität Krems, she delivers a lecture on the history of horticulture within the framework of the university course titled “Ecological Garden and Green Area Management“.  

3. Brigitte Goss /GER, technical author on gardening, moderator, organic gardener

A landscape gardener, Brigitte Goss has fully dedicated herself to organic gardening and is herself cultivating a garden that has a “Natur im Garten“ certification. She was employed by the Bavarian Garden Academy for 13 years and works today at a Bavarian authority as an advisor on garden culture for cities and municipalities. Among other things, she coordinates school garden projects, plans ecologically valuable plantings and is involved in the ecological development of communities. She writes articles for various garden magazines and is co-author of the ´Quickfinder Gartenjahr` (´Quickfinder Garden Year`), one of the best-selling gardening books in Germany and author of other garden books for the organic garden. In addition, she is a editorial staff member  of the weekly television programme “MDR-Garten“ and regularly stands in front of the camera of the Central German Broadcasting Corporation (Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, MDR) as well as Bavarian television as a garden expert.

4. Chris Raeburn/UK, Community Gardener, Phoenix Garden London

Christopher Raeburn is the head gardener at The Phoenix Garden, a multi-award winning community garden located in the heart of Central London, and award winner of the European Award for Ecological Gardening 2015. Growing up in London, Christopher's childhood explorations of parks, gardens, cemeteries and waste ground revealed the surprising array of species that can make a home in the city and this gave rise to a life-long passion for wildlife and plants. He has developed natural gardens for private clients in the United Kingdom, the south of France and in the Alps. Now, by working to showcase sustainable ecological gardening principles in a busy public garden, he hopes that many more people will be encouraged to do the same.

5. Markus Zeiler/DE, Garden Director of the Island of Mainau

Following his apprenticeship as a gardener, Markus Zeiler completed his studies in Landscape Management at the Technical College of Nürtingen and graduated with his diploma thesis on parish gardens in the Swabian Mountains. Since September 2000, Mr. Zeiler has been working at Mainau GmbH, initially as a park and garden planner. In 2007, he took over the management of the Profit Center “Park, Garten und Forst“ (“Park, Garden and Forest“) and has, in his capacity as Garden Director, since then been in charge of the maintenance, care and development of the park of the flower island.

Chairman of the Jury Karl Ploberger/AUT, author of gardening books, moderator, organic gardener

Karl Ploberger is a multi-award winning author of gardening books. Having sold more than 100.000 copies of the book “Der Garten für intelligente Faule“ (“The Garden for Intelligent Lazy People“), he was awarded the Platinum Book of the Austrian Book Trade in 2014. A moderator of popular television and radio broadcasts, his main focus lies on organic gardening as well as on natural gardens, but also on the topic of garden culture per se. Being also the editor of kraut & rüben, probably the leading magazine for organic gardening, Mr. Ploberger has acquired comprehensive knowledge through self-study. He has been moderating the TV show „Natur im Garten“ („Nature in the Garden“) for more than 10 years.