One of the UK’s best-loved gardening shows opens its doors next week as BBC Gardeners’ World Live gets underway at the NEC in Birmingham.
There’s a packed programme on offer including 12 show gardens large and small, one of the largest Floral Marquees in the country, and a star-studded programme of talks and workshops.
Steam train enthusiasts will want to head straight for the Made in Birmingham feature garden: it features a traditional Pullman Dining Carriage behind a working steam engine. As if that wasn’t enough, the garden also boasts a field of barley, hops, an allotment and cutting garden, and a wildflower embankment.
Other show gardens offer plenty of inspiration and ideas. The ‘Every Little Helps’ garden makes room for the kids, with a play area, den, and secret garden (there’s also an outdoor dining area and bar for the grown-ups!) Diarmuid Gavin is at the show with two gardens constructed by the winners of the Young Landscapers competition; and the Marshalls Front Garden shows how you can park your car and have a beautiful garden at the same time. You can see the winner of the Gardeners’ World Every Space Counts competition, plus 20 beautiful borders to fill your notebook with ideas to bring back to us here at the garden centre in Lymington so we can help you recreate them at home!
All your favourite TV presenters are at the show too, including Monty Don, Adam Frost, Carol Klein and Alan Titchmarsh, plus Mark Lane and Nick Bailey giving advice to visitors on everything from slugs and snails to pruning issues.
And for the foodies among you, remember your Gardeners’ World Live tickets also include free entry to the BBC Good Food Show Summer. Both shows run from 14-17 June 2018: for details visit www.bbcgardenerworldlive.com.