Formby’s Award Winning Horticulturist James Comish Strikes Gold Again at Southport Flower Show

52 minutes ago
4 min read

Formby’s hugely talented and multi award winning horticulturist James Comish has once again enjoyed tremendous success at the Southport Flower Show, this time helping to turn the imagination of a talented young schoolgirl into a spectacular real life show garden.

James, of James Comish Landscape & Horticulture, is already well known throughout Formby. His beautiful planting brightens Formby Village each year, while his work can also be seen across Southport town centre, where he provides stunning floral displays.

But his reputation extends far beyond the displays we enjoy locally. James has become one of the familiar award winning names at the prestigious Southport Flower Show, with an extraordinary collection of medals and trophies to his name.

A little girl’s design brought magically to life…

For the 2026 Southport Flower Show, James and Anthony Major were given a particularly special challenge, constructing the winning garden from this year’s Schools Design A Garden Competition, sponsored by Merseyrail and Postscript Books.

More than 400 entries were submitted by schoolchildren from across the North West, with the winning design coming from Mollie Goldsmith of Great Sankey Primary School in Warrington.

Mollie created an imaginative Alice in Wonderland themed garden, packed with colour, character and ideas inspired by the much loved story.

Her drawing then had to make the remarkable journey from a child’s imagination and a piece of paper to a fully constructed garden at one of Britain’s most prestigious flower shows.

That task was entrusted to James and Anthony.

Using Mollie’s original vision as their inspiration, they interpreted and constructed the garden at Victoria Park ready for this year’s show.

When Mollie and her family arrived to see the finished garden, they were absolutely over the moon.

And the judges clearly loved it too.

The finished garden was awarded a magnificent Large Gold Medal, as well as a trophy for Runner Up to Best in Show.

There was another wonderful surprise for Mollie herself, as the judges presented the young designer with a special award recognising her garden design skills.

For a primary school pupil to see an idea she created transformed into an award winning show garden is an extraordinary achievement, and James and Anthony’s skill in faithfully interpreting that vision has helped create a memory Mollie and her family are unlikely ever to forget.

An incredible record at Southport Flower Show.

The latest Large Gold adds another success to an already remarkable few years for James.

At the 2025 Southport Flower Show, James’s breathtaking A Floral Haven garden was filled with an extraordinary collection of dahlias, all carefully grown at his nursery in Formby.

It swept the awards, receiving the Large Gold Medal, Best Use of Planting Trophy, Best Large Show Garden Trophy and the prestigious Best in Show Trophy.

James was also awarded the Brockhouse Gold Challenge Trophy for Best Show Garden in 2025.

And incredibly, that triumph followed another outstanding performance just 12 months earlier.

Sweeping the board at the historic 100th Southport Flower Show.

In 2024, James and Anthony Major created the unforgettable Southport of Yesteryear for the centenary Southport Flower Show.

The nostalgic garden celebrated Southport’s history and proved a huge hit with judges and visitors.

James walked away with an exceptional collection of honours, including the Southport Corporation Trophy for Best Large Show Garden, the Brockhouse Trophy for Best Show Garden Overall, the Brian Aughton Memorial Trophy for Best Use of Plants in a Display Show Garden, as well as another Large Gold Medal.

It meant that in the landmark 100th anniversary year of the show, a horticulturist from Formby took home some of its most prestigious prizes.

James’s association with the Flower Show goes back even further. His 2022 display, which memorably incorporated a restored 1964 Massey Ferguson 65 tractor, was also awarded a Gold Medal.

Proudly rooted in Formby.

What makes James’s achievements particularly special for us is that despite receiving recognition on such a prestigious stage, his work remains firmly rooted in the local community.

James Comish Landscape & Horticulture has been established for more than 15 years, developing from a local business into a multi award winning horticultural and landscaping company.

Many Formby residents will know James’s work without necessarily realising whose hands are behind it.

Working on behalf of Formby Parish Council, James and his team are responsible for the beautiful seasonal flowers and planting that bring so much colour to Formby Village. His work also extends into Southport, where his floral displays help brighten the town centre.

From planting the flowers enjoyed by thousands of people in the heart of Formby to creating gardens capable of winning some of the highest honours at the Southport Flower Show, James’s work continues to showcase the extraordinary horticultural talent we have right here on our doorstep.

And perhaps one of the loveliest parts of this year’s achievement is that the spotlight is also being shared with a young girl whose imagination started it all.

Huge congratulations to Mollie Goldsmith on her wonderful design, to James Comish and Anthony Major for bringing her Alice in Wonderland garden so beautifully to life, and to everyone involved in achieving another fantastic Large Gold for a garden with a very special story behind it.