THE garden at a holiday homes complex in Wensleydale has won an international award.

Lodge Yard, at Askrigg, received silver gilt in the best non-retirement development communal garden section of the first New Homes Garden awards.

The complex, a listed eighteenth century stable yard, is owned by Suffolk-based Holiday Property Bond, which renovated the stone buildings and landscaped the one-acre terraced garden.

David Entwistle, who has maintained the garden since 1998, said he was given a free hand when it came to planting.

"I opted for winter colour, as there is plenty of herbaceous stuff during the summer. I chose evergreens and things like cotoneaster with a bit of winter colour," he said.

He also dug out the borders and planted up hanging baskets, containers and stone troughs.

"I take visitors on a little guided tour of the garden three times a week and people are often popping in to have a look," he said. "It is a lovely place to sit and the views are wonderful across to Addleborough and Pen Hill."

Mr Entwistle was delighted to hear of the award. "It is a lovely feeling that something I have helped to create and maintain has been recognised in this way," he said. "But it is not just down to me. The whole team here, including the housekeeper, work together to make the development what it is."

Geoffrey Baber, managing director of HPB Management, said: "Landscaping is an important feature of our developments and a great deal of attention is given to establishing gardens that are in harmony with the location and complement the developments."