Alain Jouno wins Royal Horticultural Society's Photographer of the Year prize

The amateur French photographer took the image in a garden in Brittany

Parc Botanique de Haute Bretagne, Brittany by Alain Jouno which was was the winning entry (PA)

A stunning image of a misty French garden taken at sunset by a “modest amateur photographer” has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Photographer of the Year competition.

The photograph, which features two dogs drinking from a formal pond with modern sculptures, was taken by French photographer Alain Jouno at the Parc Botanique de Haute Bretagne in Brittany.

Judge Chris Young, editor of The Garden magazine, said: “Alain's brilliant image is more than the sum of its parts.

"The serendipity of the sunset, the abstract sculptural forms, the dogs drinking the water and the mist beyond create an incredibly evocative image."

He added: "This is a well-composed photograph that truly reflects a moment in a garden's time."

Jouno, who won £2,000 and a year's free RHS membership, said: "It's hard to believe I have won, because I am only a modest amateur photographer.

"I entered the competition to share the beauty of the Botanical Park of Haute Bretagne. I took the image one evening as the mist was rising and the sky was lit by the setting sun."

Catherine Sim, a 17-year-old from Glasgow, won the RHS Young Photographer of the Year for her striking image of a crow in flight.

The winning images were chosen from thousands of entries from around the world, with a top picture chosen for each of five adult categories: plants, abstracts and details, celebrating gardens, season and wildlife. Two winning pictures were chosen from the under-18 categories.

The judges said the quality of pictures in the under-18 categories were extraordinary, making it hard to pick a winner.

Sim, who won £500 to spend on the Wex Photographic website, said: “I am so passionate about photography, and getting recognition for something that I love doing is so rewarding and makes all those hours trying to get the perfect shot so worthwhile.

"It is definitely the highlight of my year."

With additional reporting from the Press Association.