HALSALL designer Paul Richards celebrated awin as one of the student gardens of the year.

His garden ‘Cool, Calm and Contemporary’ scooped a £1,000 prizeand trophy on Thursday, as well as being awarded a gold medal.

Paul, 39, from Summerwood Lane, recently graduated from Myerscough College with afoundation degree in garden design.

Cool, Calm and Contemporary was his first ever competition entry.

It is a drastic career change for Paul, whopreviously worked in the NHS but has now set up his own design company.

He said: “This is what I enjoy and it is great to be able to take it up as a career.” Flower show patron, Roddy Llewellyn, said there was ‘a lovely feeling of being able to walk on water’ in the garden and he admired the use of silver, purple and black plants.

To create the right look with the still water, it had been tinged with black dye.

Paul said he and collaborator Michael Needham saw the garden as “somewhereto go when youcome home from work, sowe wanted the colours to look good in the evening light.”