Towering tulips, mist-soaked fields, and glittering swallows: Stunning images capture full glory of Britain's gardens for RHS Photographer Of The Year contest Thousands of images submitted to Royal Horticultural Society for six adult categories and two under-18s Judging panel of gardening and photography experts commended 'works of beauty' Wild and sprawling, luscious and quaint, this collection of photographs captures the full glory of Britain's nature. The hunt for the world's best garden photographer of 2013 has come to an end, and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has revealed the spell-binding images submitted. A disorientating shot taken from the ground of vibrant pink foxgloves towering over the lens beat thousands of entries to win first place. Spell-binding: The blue sky dotted with white clouds look ominous in this shot taken from the ground of towering foxgloves, which won Heather Buckley first prize In pastels: This vibrant and colourful starling looks like a painting in this image taken by Mateusz Piesiak, 17, who won the Young Photographer Of The Year award Seasons: Brett Critchley took first prize for the Seasons category with this glowing and golden shot of a country lane basking in autumn sunlight Photographer Heather Buckley won £1,000 for her striking image of the normally delicate-looking flowers over a background of ominous dark blue skies. An eerie multi-coloured starling bird captured in a cloud of purple and grey mist won 17-year-old Mateusz Piesiak the title of Young Photographer of the Year. The photograph, titled In Pastels, received unanimous acclaim from the judging panel of gardening and photography experts, who branded it 'a work of beauty'. The Seasons category was won by an ethereal shot of golden autumn leaves on a country path shrouded by trees with the sun pouring through. This glistening shot of the water's edge in a country park in Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire, took second place in the Seasons category Snow-covered: Photographers were inspired by the onset of severe weather conditions this year, as commended entries included this snow-covered panorama Sleek: This luscious shot of the gleaming moat at Kentwell Hall won the Gardens category. The hidden details of its spiraling garden peak invitingly over the Tudor structure Education: The People category was won by this shot, titled Learning Of Nature, showing children being led around a greenhouse using a fishbowl camera lens One of the only black and white shots of the winning entries took second place for People. Terry Heath's intimate shot is titled Professor Fukahuru And His Japanese Garden, Tatton In second place, north Lincolnshire is snapped shrouded in frost and snow. In contrast, the first prize in the Garden category went to a sleek and clear photograph of Kentwell Hall moat in Norfolk. Although the gleaming water is the focus of the shot, the spiraling green garden peaks invitingly over the red brick Tudor walls. And the under-11s prize went to nine-year-old Genna Vine, for a vibrant birds-eye-view shot of a bunch of Colchicums. The judging panel for the RHS Photographer of the Year, which was made up of Clive Nichols, one of the world's finest flower and garden photographers, Chris Young, editor of highly regarded gardening magazine The Garden and RHS competition organiser Carol Sheppard, were unanimous in their praise of Heather's work. Stormy: This ominous shot of dark clouds looming over a quaint British garden - complete with a Union Jack - took second place in the Garden category Heavenly: Jutta Riegel's still, moving sunset image came third for Gardens Wild: And Anne Lepple's so-called Morning Magic, with sprawling plants clustered before misty fields, was highly commended by the panel of gardening and photographers judging Fun & Sun In The Garden took third place for People. The summery shot celebrates Britain's luscious greenery with spurts of water and vibrant plants The vibrant shot of these Colchicums won nine-year-old Genna Vine the first place for the Under-11 category Chris Young, editor of The Garden magazine, commented: 'The quality of images submitted this year, which attracted entries from more than 40 countries, made for an enjoyable but difficult task for the judging panel. The range of images we looked at demonstrates the enthusiasm and passion that people have for capturing the beauty of the natural world. The winning image, which demonstrates a fusion of skilful photography, patience and opportunity, is a perfect fit for the RHS Photographic Competition, as it celebrates the essential relationship between plants and wildlife. This luscious shot of an Anemone de Caen flower was awarded first place for the Details prize Rachel Wallace came third in the Young Photographer Of The Year category for her image, Leaf (left). Crocosmia Lucifer came second in the Details category (right) This shot of a peloric foxglove beat thousands of contestants to take third place in the Details section Winners and highly-commended entries, such as this crocus imperati by Sue Bishop, were selected for their overall artistry, creativity, and technical excellence This shot, called Talking Heads: Papaver Angels Choir, was highly commended in the Plants section by the judges Duet: Snowdrops' scientific name is Galanthus, Greek for 'milk' (gala) and 'flower' ('anthos). The delicate plants flower in the winter. This shot was highly commended by the panel Speaking about her victory, Ms Buckley said: 'It's a great honour to be named RHS Photographer of the Year, as it's hard to get recognised as a photographer and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to show my work to a larger audience. I am really a people and street photographer, but thought the competition would be a great challenge for me as I also love gardens and flowers. I decided to try taking some flower images in my usual street style rather than the close-up style traditionally associated with flower photography. Using a wide-angle lens, in this case a fish-eye, I spent most of the afternoon trying to get this shot, taking the unusual viewpoint of looking up through the towering pink foxgloves at the bees. I finally nailed it with this image. Pigeons over my garden, by Laura Grimsley, which was highly commended by the panel Winter's tale: Sarah-Fiona Helme was also commended for her depiction of the plight of wildlife during the cold months, shown by a little bird perched on a frosted branch Wildlife third place went to Brett Critchley for his zoomed-in photograph of a mole peaking out of the ground at the summer sun Menacing: This angry bee shot, which came second for wildlife, gives the viewer a unique looks at the dark side of bumbling, buzzing insects that so many people fear Chris Collins, Blue Peter gardener, chose budding Polish photographer Mateusz Piesiak's beautiful image of a starling from a very strong field of entries. Speaking about the image, Mr Collins said: 'By bringing out the colour in the wings, and tying it in with the soft colours of the dawn mist, Mateusz has created a work of great beauty.' The competition was open to both professional and amateur photographers who were invited to submit images to any of the six adult categories including Seasons, Wildlife and People, and two categories specifically for under-18s. The RHS Photographer of the Year, Heather Buckley, and the RHS Young Photographer of the Year, Mateusz Piesiak, were selected from the winning images from each of these categories for their overall artistry, creativity and technical excellence. Medici Cards, sponsors of the RHS photographic competition will also choose an image from all the competitions entrants to publish.