Tiffany Wicks crowned as Chronicle garden competition grand champion 2024

To an outsider, participating in a garden competition might seem cute and quaint. But, those on the inside know that winning doesn’t come easy - sometimes it even requires floodlighting your whole garden for weeks.

To the regular person, Tiffany Wicks’ sprawling front yard, bursting with life and colour, is nothing short of a modern marvel.

Ms Wicks herself, however, is apologetic that one square metre of her garden is not in the condition it was on the day her garden was judged for The Chronicle Garden Competition. It seems that’s what it takes to win the contest.

In just her third year entering the competition, Ms Wicks was crowned on September 19 as the Chronicle Garden Competition’s 2024 grand champion.

The Chronicle Garden Competition 2024 City Grand Champion Tiffany Wicks Thursday, September 19, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

She first entered the competition three years ago, wanting to get more into what could then still be considered a hobby.

She now calls her effort in the first year “poxy”.

“I am just completely mad about gardening,” Ms Wicks said.

“I absolutely love flowers – I’m a flower-aholic, and I’m a creative person.

“It’s a way that I can express myself and do creative things with children.”

She said that through the competition, she met like-minded people and gardeners who inspired her, and she learnt a lot.

Italian ranunculus growing in the garden of The Chronicle Garden Competition 2024 City Grand Champion Tiffany Wicks Thursday, September 19, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“It kind of gave me this motivation to keep getting better and doing more.”

Now, her husband, Damian Mills, estimates she spends about 30 hours a week gardening.

Ms Wicks works as a clinical psychologist, and is a mother to four children – the youngest of whom is 13 months old – and is committed to her garden in a way even she describes as “obsessive”.

“I have to get creative with my time,” she said.

The Chronicle Garden Competition 2024 City Grand Champion Tiffany Wicks Thursday, September 19, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“At night time, for example, we’ve started to do different things in the garden with lights.

“And getting up really early, and fitting gardening in between naps.

“You’re physically running yourself ragged.

“I can’t even put in words how much work it is.”

As well as the physical labour involved, when she talks about her garden it becomes clear Ms Wicks’ garden is backed by hours of rigorous academic research, which is particularly important when hurdles arise.

“Because we back on to a national park, we had bandicoots digging up all the work,” Ms Wicks said.

“Everything I planted for the first couple of months, I’d come out and find had been uprooted.”

The Chronicle Garden Competition 2024 City Grand Champion Tiffany Wicks Thursday, September 19, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Her solution was sourcing floodlights, and lighting every square inch of her yard like a tennis court.

“Every square inch was like it was daylight,” she said.

She said when the problem arose, she turned to reading all the available information, and after weeks of shining constant light on her yard, the bandicoot problem was solved.

“That’s what you don’t realise, we are crazy,” she said wryly.

“To win this, this is what you’ve got to do.”

Ms Wicks’ garden will be open to the public for viewing from September 20 to 22, from 9am to 5pm, and from September 27 to 29 from 9am to 5pm.

Her unmissable garden can be found at 6 Fairholme St, East Toowoomba.