Meet the Young Landscaper of the Year 2026 finalists
We are delighted to announce the ten finalists elected to compete at Young Landscaper of the Year 2026.
This year’s field represents some of the best emerging talent in New Zealand landscaping, with competitors from Auckland down to Otago representing businesses of all sizes.
They will come together at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on Saturday 19 September to compete across ten stations testing the full breadth of what a great landscaper can do.
The finalists:
Ben Malpas | Espaso Verde | Hawke’s Bay
Benjamin Lamond | Greenscapes | Canterbury
Christian Cox | Luijten Landscaping | Auckland
Connor Sullivan | Canterra | Canterbury
Joe Hagley | Southern Landmarx | Otago
Lachlan Bensemann | Forever Green | Canterbury
Luke Brinkmann-Kroemer | Diva Landscapes | Otago
Richard Brahne | Second Nature Gardens | Auckland
Taumata Lowe | OTERA Landscapes | Auckland
Taylor Allsop | Readylawn Industries | Canterbury
As 2019 winner George Trower reflects, the competition gives you exposure to the wider landscape industry – and teaches you to step outside your comfort zone, because that is where growth happens.
We want to thank all the entrants. The judges deliberated for some time to come up with the ten finalists, so we encourage those that did not make the finals to follow the competition and look to re-enter next time.
We wish all ten finalists the very best of luck and look forward to celebrating with them in Christchurch in September (tickets to the awards dinner go on sale soon).
Want to know more about what the competition experience is really like?