Summerhill’s Sean Melia crowned Super Garden 2026 winner

At just 20 years old, Summerhill native Sean Melia has been crowned the winner of Super Garden 2026, becoming the youngest contestant ever to win the popular RTÉ competition.

The final episode of this year’s series aired on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player this evening with Sean impressing judges with his contemporary “Urban Jungle” garden design.

Sean’s striking garden tackled a difficult outdoor space dominated by a large concrete wall, using strong colours and elevated planting areas to create a vibrant and modern design within the competition’s demanding three-week timeframe.

Gardening runs deep in the Melia family, with Sean following in the footsteps of ten generations of gardeners before him. He is currently completing an apprenticeship in horticulture through the National Botanic Gardens.

The victory also marks a proud moment for the family after Sean’s father, Dermot, appeared on Super Garden in 2020. Dermot wowed viewers and judges with his own design during that series but narrowly missed out on a place at Bord Bia Bloom.

This year, Sean succeeded where his father fell just short and brought the title home to the family.

Speaking after being announced as the winner, Sean said: “I can’t believe it’s come true, it honestly doesn’t feel real yet.”

This year’s series of Super Garden was filmed at Millrace, a new social housing development in Ashbourne delivered by Meath County Council, where five families who had recently moved into new homes had their gardens transformed for the competition.

Each designer created a garden tailored to the individual needs of the families involved.

Kerrie Gardiner, Show Garden Manager for Bord Bia Bloom and chief judge of Super Garden, praised Sean’s achievement.

“That Sean, at 20 years of age, is able to achieve such a garden with so many great touch points is very impressive,” she said.

As this year’s winner, Sean will now recreate his garden at Bord Bia Bloom, Ireland’s premier gardening and food festival, taking place over the June Bank Holiday weekend in Dublin.

The other designs featured in this year’s series included Eoighan Mountaine Barry’s “All Seasons” garden, Janani Rajkumar’s “Irish Landscape” garden, Emily Moorcroft’s “Bear’s Wild Corner”, and Adrian Bolton’s “Green Man Sanctuary” garden.

All episodes of Super Garden 2026 are now available to stream on RTÉ Player.