Last week I spent an amazing day at the BBC Gardeners World Live show at Birmingham NEC. Such a brilliant show – I barely stopped for a break because I couldn’t tear myself away from all there was to see, do and try out. I came away with a head full of ideas and, obviously, some lovely new plants – well it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it?!
Here are my show highlights – so hard to narrow it down!
Floral Marquee
I made a beeline for the floral marquee as soon as I arrived – I just can’t resist the flower overload that it offers and it didn’t disappoint.
Show Gardens
I love wandering around show gardens; even if I start off thinking I don’t want to change anything in my garden, within minutes I’m all fired up to do something new or re-work something that’s already there to make it better. So refreshing.
I love this ‘Sociability’ garden designed by Creative Roots; low-maintenance planting is really well-balanced with informal social areas and it feels very modern without being too pared-back. A great option if you love using your garden but don’t have much time for gardening.
The Love the Plot You’ve Got campaign aims to inspire us to make the most of our outdoor space, whether that’s a balcony, window box, tiny plot or big garden. Their garden is proof that you can incorporate room for entertaining, growing your own, wildlife and relaxing into a really small space while still making it look wonderful. So inspiring.
This is a corner of ‘The Family Garden’ which aims to create a fun and vibrant space for a young family. Kids would definitely love the bright colours and I like that the informal wildlife-friendly planting will grow up and soften this messy play area.
The RSPB stand was completely crazy, in a good way; indoor room scenes transformed into outdoor wildlife homes. Have you ever seen a bug hotel like this?! So creative and a real talking point, I think it will have done wonders for engaging visitors with their campaign to make a home for nature.
Adam Frost’s ‘Right Plant Right Place’ garden offers tonnes of inspiration for planting combinations to suit specific conditions. I love the way the clean landscaping of this pond works with the naturalistic marginal / aquatic plants and the strong backdrop of greenery. This garden won Best in Show – very well-deserved.
It’s always great to get hands-on when visiting a show like this and there are lots of workshops to help you improve your skills and knowledge. I was lucky enough to plant tomato seeds with Dale from the Skinny Jean Gardeners…
Dale and his brother Lee have made gardening relevant to a whole new younger audience, and one of their many brilliant gardening projects is looking after the Blue Peter garden – so some serious cool points earned by me with my 8 year old. Thanks Dale 
Visiting a garden or garden show is such a great way to get inspiration for your own garden, you can’t fail to come away with ideas, plans and tips to try at home. If you didn’t get a chance to visit the BBC Gardeners World show check out the hashtag #BBCGWLive on twitter and instagam for lots of photos and highlights. And if you did visit I’d love to hear what made it onto your highlights list – if you can bear to narrow it down!
Joining in with Annie’s ‘How Does Your Garden Grow’ series at Mammasaurus.
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