Ten of the country’s leading emerging landscapers have completed the Young Landscaper of the Year 2026 national final, bringing practical skill and industry knowledge into public view at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

A day in the gardens

The event on Saturday 19 September saw finalists rotate through ten practical stations covering machinery, tools, planting, lawns, profile setout, design, irrigation, plant identification, paving and hardscape construction. Speeches from the finalists gave visitors a further look at the people and ideas shaping the profession.

Registered Master Landscapers’ Rachel Louie says opening the competition to the public gave people a close-up view of the skill behind professional landscaping. “Opening the competition to the public at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens gave people a close-up view of the skill behind professional landscaping. The sell-out dinner then brought the industry together to celebrate ten outstanding finalists and the people whose careers have helped shape the profession,” she says.

The finalists

The 2026 finalists were Taylor Allsop of Readylawn Industries in Canterbury, Lachlan Bensemann of Forever Green in Canterbury, Richard Brahne of Second Nature Gardens in Auckland and Luke Brinkmann-Kroemer of Diva Landscapes in Otago. They were joined by Christian Cox of Luijten Landscaping in Auckland, Joe Hagley of Southern Landmarx in Otago, Benjamin Lamond of Greenscapes in Canterbury and Taumata Lowe of OTERA Landscapes in Auckland. The field was completed by Ben Malpas of Espaso Verde in Hawke’s Bay and Connor Sullivan of Canterra in Canterbury.

Sullivan was named overall Young Landscaper of the Year 2026. Lowe received the Communication and Hardscape Practice awards, Allsop received the Leadership award, and Sullivan also took the Softscape Practice award.

Backed by partners

Every finalist received a substantial development and prize package supported by competition partners. It included a personalised mentoring programme from Invest Training Solutions and contributions from STIHL, Wetta Industries, Primary ITO, Firth, Elliotts, Dulux, Carters, Playground Centre, Straightcurve, Bunnings Trade, One Stop Deck Shop and Mitre 10.

The day ended with a sell-out celebration dinner at Chateau on the Park, where guests celebrated finalists and award recipients before the evening moved to dancing. Registered Master Landscapers described it as a fitting close to a national showcase of talent, commitment and industry community.