Things are hotting up as we near the opening of BBC Gardeners’ World Live this year, here at the NAS the West Midlands team are carefully tending their plants for the allotment display and staff are knitting vegetables for the information stand - have you seen our competition to win tickets for GWL? - still time to knit a few chillis.
As BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World celebrates its 50th anniversary, this year’s event will be a Golden Jubilee style summer garden party:
- The Gardeners’ World presenters Monty Don, Carol Klein, Joe Swift, Adam Frost, Frances Tophill, Flo Headlam and Nick Bailey all appear with expert tips and gardening anecdotes.
- Notable past TV programme presenters Peter Seabrook and Diarmuid Gavin are newly confirmed on the line-up on Thursday 15 June, alongside Alan Titchmarsh on Thursday and Toby Buckland on Sunday 18 June.
- BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World team film at the Show on Thursday as part of their much anticipated one-hour anniversary programme airing Friday 16 June.
- The TV programme’s Golden Jubilee Plant will be crowned at the Show on Thursday, with Mary Berry announcing the winner on the programme the following day. Also don’t miss the Changing Face of Gardening feature displaying all the nominations plus historical tools and memorabilia from the programme.
- Explore the styles of the past half century in the Nostalgia Garden, a vintage garden scene from the 60s when Gardeners’ World first hit our screens, and the Anniversary Garden with vignettes of the trends of the last five decades; from crazy paving and bedding of the 70s, to naturalistic planting and outdoor rooms of the 2000s.
- Be wowed by the Jubilee bedding display of Golden African Marigold and Lobelia Cambridge Blue.
- Look out for presenters past and present in their flower form, including; Alan Titchmarsh, Carol Klein, Geoffrey Smith, Geoff Hamilton, Peter Seabrook and Rachel de Thame in the Nostalgia Garden and in the anniversary themed Beautiful Borders.
- Harkness Roses, with Roses UK, launch the new rose Gardeners’ Gold – a stunning golden cultivar available to buy from Harkness Roses as part of the Rose Festival in the Floral Marquee.
- In the Floral Marquee, Flowers from the Farm’s garden party scene of British cut flowers will feature a beautiful table set for the Gardeners’ World presenters plus demos and a social media studio with floral props. Barnsdale Gardens hotfoot it from RHS Chelsea Flower Show to recreate their stunning 50 years of Gardeners’ World Pennard Plants will display fruit bushes and trees with a veritable museum of garden tools and pages of BBC books published by the presenters over the past half century. Primrose Hall Nursery are to create an impressive birthday cake with three tiers of peonies in fantastic pastel colours.
- Enjoy the Spiced Apple and Beetroot birthday cake created exclusively for the Show by Nadiya Hussain.
Whilst the birthday party is in full swing, there’s garden inspiration and expert advice around every corner:
- Show Gardens include the Tesco ‘Every Little Helps’ Garden showing how small changes can make big differences, and the romantic Wyevale Garden Centres’ walk-through ‘Romance in the Ruins’ Garden packed with scented roses.
- The five APL Avenue Competition Gardens are all designed to be inspirational, aspirational and achievable. Packed with great ideas these gardens include designs for a family, an urban couple and one for hipsters!
- The BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine editors demonstrate how to create stunning containers at the Potting Shed Stage, joined by special guests including Alan Titchmarsh.
- Bringing it home, Birmingham City Council recreate their floral masterpiece from RHS Chelsea Flower Show, celebrating the work of Birmingham cartoonist Rowland Emett, creator of “Phantasmagorical Machines”.
- Schools from the Midlands take part in the Meal in a Barrow competition, where each barrow will be packed with homegrown ingredients for a tasty summer recipe.
- Lucy Chamberlain, gardening writer for The Guardian, heads up The Advice Desk in the Floral Marquee where visitors can get one-to-one advice for their garden and plants.
- GreenThumb bring their expert lawncare advisers to the Show to speak with visitors about how to get the most out of their lawn – all alongside their turf-with-wow-factor feature garden ‘With a Twist’.
- Visitors can learn techniques for creating stunning indoor displays with their garden flowers from the British Floristry Association at their dedicated stage, featuring hand-tied bouquets and table centrepieces.
- The VegTrug Grow Your Own Stage includes demos from ‘Mini Fruit’ with Rob Smith and ‘Top Veg for Trugs’ with Gardeners’ Question Time’s Matt Biggs, to the Skinny Jean Gardener’s ‘Sow n’ grow, make n’ create’.
- Jim Buttress hosts interviews and demos from specialist growers at the Demo Bench in the Floral Marquee.
From plot to smorgasbord
- Every ticket includes entry to the BBC Good Food Show – freely wander between the shows to taste your way around sumptuous flavours, find recipe inspiration and shop from artisan food and drink producers.
- Enjoy a delicious sit-down meal at the BBC Good Food Kitchen inspired by their favourite summer recipes.
- See culinary heroes live in the BBC Good Food Show at the Healthy Kitchen stage, book signings and the BBC Good Food Stage including household favourites Mary Berry, Tom Kerridge and Michel Roux Jr.
- Look out for the street food area or create your own picnic from the wondrous foods on offer at the BBC Good Food Show which you can enjoy among the Show Gardens, maybe topped off by a glass of Pimm's?
Fun for Families
BBC Gardeners’ World Live is the ultimate day out for families as under 18s go completely FREE at the weekend (under 5s free every day). Look out for
- Live music including the fabulous Polka Dots plus dancing with the Strictly Come Dancing compere
- The Bathgate sandpit, face painting and craft activities.
- The Skinny Jean Gardener runs children’s sessions on the VegTrug Grow Your Own Stage
- The Donkey Sanctuary with their lovable donkeys
- Seed sowing with The Conservation Volunteers at their stand by Picnic Hill
- Pre-bookable crèche so visitors with little ones can enjoy 90 minutes of me-time
Plus all tickets include entry to the BBC Good Food Show packed with summer flavours, tasty treats and top chefs.
