Newly-qualified garden designer Marion Dale has proved she has the Midas touch by winning a gold award at the National Gardening Show.

Mrs Dale and Wiltshire College colleague Gary Couzens took the top award at the show at Shepton Mallet in the student design category.

She lives at Winterbourne Monkton, near Avebury, and Mr Couzens is from Westbury. Both have just qualified with HNCs in garden design from Lackham College.

The National Gardening Show was held at the Bath and West Showground last week. Amateur Gardening magazine sponsored the Student Design Challenge for newly qualified gardening students.

Mrs Dale joined forces with Mr Couzens and both worked on the design of their winning Water Harvesting Garden based on saving and utilising rainwater.

Hosepipe bans, imposed across many areas of the country last year following weeks of drought, were their source of inspiration.

Mrs Dale said: "The show garden demonstrated the principle of collecting rain water, storing it and then using it to irrigate the garden,"

She added: "Even with the amount of rain we have had this summer the concept is still appropriate as most of the rain water has not been collected and people will still be paying for mains water for use in their gardens."

More and more developers are incorporating rainwater saving systems in their new homes she said. She has diversified from her other work as a business consultant, which she plans to continue to do while helping others plan and build their gardens.

She and her partner Paul Summerfield moved to Wiltshire four years ago into a barn conversion with a large area of garden, largely grass and shrubs.

She attended a residential course in Yorkshire. Then she downsized her own business consultancy to three days a week, leaving her two days to attend the garden design course at Lackham.

Mrs Dale said: "I got a thrill from learning more and more. I discovered a creative side I didn't know I had."

After getting their HNCs Mrs Dale and Mr Couzens decided to enter a design in the National Gardening Show.

They were sponsored by CMA Build-base in Calne and spent weeks working on the design.