Growing Green at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022

This contest has now closed and the tickets were won by Tom Cranham.

Given that she’s building the feature garden at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022, I’m surprised when Frances Tophill tells me they make her uncomfortable.

“Show gardens don’t always sit that comfortably with me,” says the Gardeners’ World presenter. “They’re so transient.”

It’s the often high carbon footprint of these horticultural displays that jars with her, the way plants and trees can be shipped in from abroad just for a show.

Her garden at Birmingham’s NEC will be different. The overarching theme of sustainability means it will use only recycled or reclaimed materials, while the plants will be grown peat-free.

They’re also being sourced from growers close to Frances’ Devon home, the NEC, or members of her team, including Rupert and Ruth Keys from Pershore. Rupert is building the garden and Ruth, a gold medal-winning designer, is helping with the design.

The only exception are trees, including a mature apple, that are being donated by Hilliers, although the nursery is part of the show and will be exhibiting there.

“I was really strict with the team about what I wanted,” says Frances. “Basically, I wanted it to be as sustainable as it possibly can be.”

It will result in a very different kind of show garden, far removed from the perfection that is so often seen. Plants won’t be held back or forced into flowering. Nor will they be left out if they’ve gone slightly over or are not quite in flower.

“I’m prepared to sacrifice the actual quality of the garden to get the message over.”

Frances, who does a lot of conservation and community gardening work, is hoping that after the show the garden will go to a Coventry charity providing food to those who can’t afford it, further underpinning the sustainable message.

The garden is built around a greenhouse and tin shed, both made from recycled materials. In a nod to this year’s centenary celebrations of the BBC, the shed echoes the Bauhaus design movement, which was popular 100 years ago.

The garden features plants that are useful to us or to pollinators, with something in every area.

There will be shade-loving plants under the trees, climbing fruits, vegetables, hostas – which she tells me are edible – and lots of herbs, including natives such as mugwort, self heal, and St John’s wort.

Lawn is included but one suited to wildlife rather than the carefully mown style of many show gardens: “It’s not a full wildflower meadow. It’s more like rough, unkempt lawn.”

It’s the sort of gardening that Frances champions in her latest book, The Modern Gardener. In it she shows how to create somewhere that looks great but is sustainable and good for wildlife. As well as how to grow tips, it features recipes and craft projects, such as making lip balm.

“It’s all about how to grow in a kind of more circular, sustainable way,” she says. “There’s so much that we can do. Little tweaks that make a really big difference.”

Creating a show garden that is different has been a challenge as materials can’t be simply ordered from a website and even what they will be is unclear until they’re sourced from reclamation yards.

“It’s made me realise how hard building a garden sustainably actually is. You can do it, but it does take more thought and more time.”

Frances isn’t a designer – she’s just started working as a head gardener in a Devon walled garden as maternity cover – and she admits the project both excites and terrifies her.

She’s prepared for it to divide visitors: “It’s a garden that will challenge people. I’m fully expecting to have mixed reactions.”

What she hopes is that it will be thought-provoking.

“I hope people will see it is as a little space that’s absolutely crammed full of ideas that they take home to whatever they may have, whether it’s a big space or a small space.”

BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022 – the show

With the BBC celebrating its centernary in 2022, there will be displays in the Floral Marquee inspired by popular programmes including Peaky Blinders and The Repair Shop.

Garden inspiration will come from the APL Avenue (Association of Professional Landscapers) with designs suitable for the average back garden plot, while show gardens include one built without using plastic, a potager-style garden with ideas for growing your own, and a garden to encourage us all to grow organically. The Beautiful Borders section has a range of ideas for the smallest of spaces.

There will be talks from gardeners including Alan Titchmarsh, Monty Don and Adam Frost, expert advice on growing, and the chance to buy from some of the country’s top nurseries.

BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022 runs from June 16-19 at the NEC, Birmingham. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the website.

Win Tickets to BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022

Win a pair of tickets to attend BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022 at the Birmingham NEC, which includes entry to the BBC Good Food Show Summer. Tickets valid for Sunday entry only, entry at 9am. No cash alternative. Travel not included.

To enter, please leave a comment under this post saying what you are most looking forward to at the show. Entries close at noon on Thursday May 26, 2022. One entry per person. The winner will be drawn at random from the entries and notified by email. If I do not get a reply by noon on Monday May 30, a new winner will be drawn. Please, see the T&Cs below.

T&Cs One comment per person. This draw is open to UK residents only. This competition is promoted by The Chatty Gardener and is not open to employees of the BBC or relatives of The Chatty Gardener. By posting a comment, The Chatty Gardener will have access to your email address. This will not be made public or used for anything other than to contact you, if you are the lucky winner. The results of the draw will be posted on The Chatty Gardener.

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