The colourful English cottage style garden of pub owner Penny Barnes has won awards in recent years.

Mrs Barnes, who runs the Coach and Horses at Hacklinge, on the Deal-Sandwich Road, is a winner of the pub gardens category of the Garden News Gardener of the Year competition, giving several years of hard work the accolade she deserves.

Mrs Barnes said: “I started gardening in my own right when I got my own house but my mum encouraged me to garden when I was little. Everything she did I did a small version of.”

For the past 19 years, Penny and husband Mike have been running pubs and as former landlords of the Bowling Green Tavern in Deal, they know what an asset a good garden is.
She said: “When we moved here, we just had a lawn so I developed into what I hoped it could be.

“We’ve got seating for about 70 to 80 people in the garden. In the summer it’s a huge part of our trade.”

With their bouncy castle and kids play area, the garden is a draw for families.

And with colourful flowers and herbaceous borders, a vegetable and herb patch, it is as functional as pretty, with the fruits and vegetables grown by Penny being used to serve up delicious dishes in the kitchen.