This is a huge show – tread carefully if you have mobility issues!
Gardeners’ World Live 2022 was my first visit to the show, and I was stunned by its sheer scale. It has the glamour of RHS Chelsea, big show bargains and BBC gardening stars thrown in. Thanks to Sue Welford for the majority of the photos!
It’s my first big event after my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, so it probably wasn’t the best test. I’ve visited NEC Birmingham before, and there’s a lot of walking to do if you’re travelling by train to Birmingham International. I wanted to know what facilities were like for those ‘in-betweenies’ like me, not in a wheelchair but someone who needs places to rest and pace themselves.
My advice – visit by car. There are shuttle buses from the car parks to the show, but there needs to be something between Birmingham International station and the halls and the outside area housing the show. There were seats, but one of the travelators was out of order.
Show Gardens, APL Avenue, Beautiful Borders
The 11 Show Gardens are there to impress and inspire and they don’t let you down. Expensive hard landscaping may put people off in these times of need but I’d urge you to look beyond this and see the plant combinations. These can easily be copied at home on a budget.
My favourite was Frances’ Garden – Frances Tophill’s first show garden. With a passion for upcycling and sustainability, it reminded me so much of my uncle George’s 1970s allotment, with greenhouses built of old window frames. Various Belfast sinks were linked together to form a most unusual water feature. However, it was the attention to detail which was stunning – great planting, nasturtiums peeking out of windows, even an old fork encased in concrete!
APL (Association of Professional Landscapers) Avenue hosts three Show Gardens designed to typical back garden sizes, with the theme of ‘Work, Rest and Play… in a Sustainable Way.’ The Beautiful Borders offer accessible advice to recreate in your own garden. This year’s theme is Wild Life! Whether you have a small garden or a challenging space, there are ideas for all.
Show and Feature Gardens Awards
PLATINUM
• Frances’ Garden – by Frances Tophill (Best Show Garden & Showcase Garden Platinum Award Winner)
• Marshalls Garden: Food For Thought
• Grundy’s Farm (The Archers) designed by Paul Stone
• The Hideout (Peaky Blinders) designed by Alexandra Froggatt.
GOLD
• Small Space – Big Ideas by Garden Organic, Emma O’Neill and Chris Collins.
SILVER MERIT
• Old is Gold – by Anna Pawlowska and Gordius Team LTD
• The Memories of Mountains Garden Retreat – by Jonathan King and JKD Studio
• Nurture Through Nature – by Landscapes of Distinction and Kim Parish
• The Living Landscape – A Nostalgic Experience – by Garden Design Co and Michael Wheat Group.
SILVER
• Practically Plastic Free – by Pip Probert.
BRONZE
• Metamorphosis – by Derby College and Rachel Pratt/Mike Baldwin.
Beautiful Borders Awards
PLATINUM
• The Crinkle-Crankle, Dead Hedge Border – by Cathy Perry (Best Beautiful Border)
• Jungle 365 – by Kate Suttle.
GOLD
• Pretty Wild – by Jordan Weston, The Bearded Botanist
• Express Yourself – by Carly Tong
• To Anchor a Wild World: Through the Eyes of a Child with Autism – by Angie Tolley, The Barefoot Gardener UK
• (We Deserve A) Wildlife – by Kitty Chew (Best Interpretation of the Border Theme)
• Recall, Return, Renew – by Sue Arthur and Ian Potts (Best BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscriber Border)
• Where the Wild Things Are – by Zoe Cook and Trellis Design.
SILVER MERIT
• There’s an alternative to the green desert – by Aaron Marubbi and Marubbi Landscapers
• Equatorial Suburbia – by Rachel Glover
• Living the Wild Life – by Charlotte Jones, The Northern School of Gardening and Grant Horticulture LTD
• Overcoming Barriers – by David Magor
• Poetry Pharmacy Physic Garden – by Esther Cooper-Wood, Laura Clark, Liz Colebrook and Alex Valk
• Wildlife Oasis – by Louise Carson and Lou Carson Garden Design.
BRONZE
• Wildlife Habitat – by Lorraine Brodrick and Cotswold Garden Designer.
Special recognition – PCF’s Eco-Friendly Community Garden – by Kathryn Westcott.
Gardeners’ World Live 2022 – Live stages
Due to the popularity of the presenters appearing live at Gardeners’ World Live 2022, it’s worth noting that demand is very high. Not all of the live stages are free and some you have to pre-book with your ticket. Searching more than a week before the first day, most of the sessions with Monty Don were already sold out at the BBC GWL Theatre. This stage is hosted by Nicki Chapman and costs £6 Gold/£4 Standard for Premium sessions, and £5 Gold/£3 Standard.
If you don’t want to part with any more cash, these stages are run on a drop-in basis with no pre-booking – just turn up. You’ll still see Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh but not every day:
- BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage
- My Gardeners’ World Stage, sponsored by Hillier
- Let’s Grow Your Own Stage
- The Woodland Trust Tree Surgery.
My advice – if you need a rest, head to one of the less popular stages. They’ll all be good but you’re much more likely to get a seat and learn something too. Also, the team were out filming on site, so we were able to watch Rachel de Thame and Arit Anderson hard at work.
Floral Marquee
Always a favourite of mine at any show, this one didn’t disappoint. Celebrating the BBC’s centenary were displays inspired by popular programmes, including The Archers, Only Fools and Horses and Peaky Blinders. The Pebble Mill-inspired display, designed by Peter Seabrook who died earlier this year, was particularly poignant. My favourites were the Dibleys stand, complete with a TARDIS and the Archers-inspired exhibit.
Floral Marquee results
PLATINUM
- Alex Froggatt: BBC 100 celebration Peaky Blinders feature display
- Ashcroft Perennials: Grasses & perennials
- Brighter Blooms: Zantedeschia
- Craig House Cacti: Cacti & other succulent plants
- David Cheshire Nurseries Ltd: Niwaki, bonsai, rare & unusual trees
- David Colegrave Foundation: Peter Seabrook tribute Derbyshire Bonsai: Bonsai trees
- Dibleys: Streptocarpus & begonias
- Every Picture Tells a Story: Bromeliads & associated plants
- Grafton Nursery: Eucalyptus trees
- Hampshire Carnivorous Plants: Carnivorous plants
- Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants: Herbaceous perennials
- Harts Nursery: Lilies & alliums
- Hippopottering Nursery: Japanese maples in peat-free compost
- Hoyland Plant Centre: Agapanthus, nerines & amarine
- Jurassic Plants: Unusual edible trees & shrubs
- Marshalls: Marshalls Food for Thought Garden
- New Forest Hosta: Hostas, hemerocallis & shade plants
- Norfield Nursery: Acers & Japanese maples
- North of England Bonsai: Bonsai
- Paul Stone: BBC 100 celebration The Archers feature display
- Pheasant Acre: Pot-grown dahlias & other bulbous plants
- Roualeyn Fuchsias: Fuchsias Platinum
- Shropshire Sarracenias: Carnivorous plants
- Sienna Hosta: Hostas
- Somerset Sweet Peas: Sweet pea seeds & root trainers
- South Staffs Bonsai: Bonsai
- Stonebarn: BBC 100 celebration Only Fools & Horses feature display
- Tynings Climbers: Climbers
- W Robinson & Sons: Vegetables
- WS Warmenhoven: Alliums, hippeastrum, tulips & other bulbs.
GOLD
- Alchemy Ferns: Hardy ferns, tree ferns and pinus
- Barnsdale Nursery: Perennials, shrubs & grasses
- Beech Tree Farm Plants: Lavender, ferns & topiary
- British Pteridological Society: Ferns
- Calamazag Nursery: Dianthus
- Cooks: Hydrangeas & perennials
- CS Lockyer: Fuchsias
- Daisy Roots: Perennials & grasses
- D’Arcy & Everest: Alpines, sempervivums & small perennials
- Fosters Exotic: Cacti & succulents
- G&K Carnations: Carnations
- Garden Organic: The Garden Organic “Small Spaces – Big Ideas” Garden
- Green Jam: Penstemon & perennials
- Homefarm Plants: Elatum delphiniums
- Hooksgreen Herbs: Herbs
- Ice Alpines: Alpines
- Kitchen Garden Plants: Herbs & edible plants
- Laurence Hobbs: Exotic orchids
- Lincolnshire Pond Plants: Aquatic plants
- Moore & Moore: Shade tolerant & woodland plants
- Peter Beales: Roses
- Potash Nursery: Pelargoniums & fuchsias
- Priorswood Clematis: Clematis & climbers
- Proctors Nursery: Early summer flowering perennials & shrubs
- W&S Lockyer: Perennials with specimen succulents.
SILVER MERIT
- Alstromeria Select: Alstromeria
- Bean Place: Mixed perennials, grasses & ferns
- Fibrex
- Floyds
- Heucheraholics: Heucheras & ferns
- K Partington: Rhodohypoxes
- K&S Nurseries: Ornamental grasses
- Ledburns: Salvias & hardy perennials
- Middleton Nurseries: Salvias & hardy perennials
- NAFAS: Cut flowers
- Primrose Hall: Peonies
- Skerne Alpines: Alpines in traditional troughs.
SILVER
- Cottage Garden
- Geoff’s Fuchsias: Miniature flowering fuchsias with variegated foliage fuchsias & trained shapes
- Hillview Hardy: Seasonal perennials attractive to pollinators
- Northern Fruit Group Fruits
- NVS: Vegetables
- Redman Hardy: Salvia & flowering perennials
- Westdale: Bougainvillaea.
Gardeners’ World Live 2022 – Shopping
The Plant Village is a great place to pick up the latest plants and accessories, as is the Houseplant Market, but there are limits when you have two trains to catch home! The new Artisan Collective Market provided a compact way to splurge our cash.
I could have spent a fortune but ended up settling for two unusual Aloes – Cleopatra and Danyz, for £8 each, plus a packet of French flat-leaved parsley, £3.
Food and drink
As you’re a captive audience and with the cost of living crisis, most food and drink are expensive. However, there is a Wetherspoons in the NEC which is air-conditioned and reasonable. The BBC Good Food Restaurant was fully booked before the show started. A little bird did tell me to head for the BBC Good Food Show area around lunchtime for lots of free samples but you’d have to be an expert blagger for that to keep you going all day!
BBC Good Food Show
An added bonus, this show comes with the ticket! Like the gardening event, celebrities such as Dame Mary Berry, James Martin, Nadiya Hussain, Tom Kerridge and Michel Roux take to the stage. There are also lots of regional and artisan producers to try and buy from.
We sampled runny yolk Scotch eggs from the Gourment Scotch Egg Company, stem ginger and peppermint cornets from Salcombe Ices and brownies from Northern Brownies.
Gardeners’ World Live 2022 – Accessibility
As we went to Birmingham for a couple of days, we opted to stay in the city centre. The NEC is another 15-minute train ride away from New Street Station, so bear that in mind. Also, the NEC halls are linked to the station by covered walkways which are quite a walk in themselves.
For more information, visit www.thenec.co.uk/visiting-us/getting-here or www.thenec.co.uk/visitors/accessibility.
