Date: 29 September 2026

York Museum Gardens wins Platinum Award for third year running in prestigious Yorkshire in Bloom Competition 

York Museum Gardens have recently celebrated a Best in Category and Platinum Award at Yorkshire in Bloom for the third consecutive year.  

The Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom is the largest horticultural campaign in Europe so winning the category for Yorkshire Rose Parks, Cemeteries, and Gardens is another significant accolade and completes a hattrick of Platinum Awards for York Museum Gardens.  

Since the last award, the wildflower meadow had a third year of blooms in the Artists Garden, providing a calming space for visitors to enjoy as well as refuge for insects and pollinators through the dry summer months. The Gardens Team have also been busy renovating flower beds and borders alongside creating a bespoke Japanese Zen Garden that accompanied Making Waves: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print exhibition that ran at York Art Gallery from February to August 2026. 

The Garden Team dedicate themselves to the Garden in a variety of ways outside of the planting, from running weekly guided tours, community birdwatching and creating wildlife habitat, raising money via the plant bench outside the Yorkshire Museum and many seasonal activities. In 2026 York Museum Gardens have hosted several shoots for television and film, weddings, concerts, a dog show, Eboracum Roman Festival, Health and Arts Mela and many other outstanding events making it a well-used and enjoyed part of the community as well as a beautiful one. 

Steve Williams, Garden Manager at York Museums Trust said: “We are so grateful to have received recognition from Yorkshire in Bloom again for the third time this year. The hard work of all our staff and volunteers throughout the year has contributed to the beautiful green spaces in the heart of urban York that are enjoyed by over a million people each year. We strive to build biodiversity, create habitats and contribute to the City of York by offering a relaxing environment for wellbeing and where the local community can come together. We couldn’t achieve this success without the support from our colleagues, all of whom understand the importance of our wonderful green space. The team not only focus on the aesthetics of the garden but also sustaining the varied wildlife and plant life that call the garden home.”