See Rachel de Thame at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair on Sunday 5 May.

Rachel de Thame, presenter on BBC2s Gardeners’ World, makes her BBC Gardeners’ World Events debut in 2024, sharing top tips and advice live on stage.

Rachel is a broadcaster, writer and passionate gardener. Trained at The English Gardening School, she has been a regular presenter on BBC2’s Gardeners’ World since 1999. Rachel is also a long-term member of the team providing coverage of all the major RHS Flower Shows, for which she co-anchored several episodes in 2021. Rachel’s other television series’ include Small Town Gardens and Gardening with the Experts for the BBC and Countrywise for ITV. A Good Read for BBC Radio 4 and Essential Classics for BBC Radio 3 are among her radio appearances

The author of three gardening books, Rachel is a gardening columnist for the Sunday Times and The Garden magazine for the RHS. Her writing commissions for other publications, include BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and The Huffington Post.

Design projects, range from the LK Bennett Garden at Chelsea Flower Show 2008 and the floral decorations for the Royal Barge, during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012,to bespoke planting plans for private gardens.

Rachel co-curated the RHS London Rose Show in 2016 and has been the key speaker and/or host for talks and events at The Ashmolean Museum, The Garden Museum, Highgrove, Hever Castle, The Charleston Garden Festival and The Royal Geographical Society.

Rachel is Vice President of wild flower charity Plantlife, and an Ambassador for The National Garden Scheme. She has also supported Flowers From the Farm – the network for the UK’s cut flower growers – since its inception.

The mother of four children, Rachel’s interests beyond horticulture include the performing and fine arts, history, antiques and crafts of all kinds. She is currently restoring the garden – including walled vegetable, herb and cut flower beds – and interiors at her home in the Cotswolds, where country walks and wildlife spotting are welcome distractions.

See Frances Tophill at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair on Friday 3rd May, live on the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine stage.

In 2016 Frances joined BBC’s Gardeners’ World doing a few strands for the programme, one on vegetable seed trials which she worked on from her local RHS garden, RHS Rosemoor and another on gardens situated in extreme locations.

Frances is involved with the RHS campaign for school gardening and is passionate about enthusing young people to get into horticulture.  She is working on a number of community gardening projects in the South West and is also helping the redevelopment of some costal gardens that were damaged by the 2014 storms.  This is a particular passion of hers having grown up by the sea and was also part of her degree specialisation.

Frances is a popular choice for gardening talks and has appeared at Blenheim Palace Flower Show, Hampton Court Flower Show and the Eden Project Green Fingers Festival to name a few.  Hailing from Deal in Kent, Frances now lives in Exeter having completed her BSc in Horticulture with Plantmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2013.  Frances got into gardening from an early age, helping out around the garden at home and after overly ambitiously designing a terraced landscape in a planter, given to her by her mum, age 7, she was hooked.  As well as all things gardening Frances is a budding crafter and currently doing a pottery course.

Frances’ first book, First Time Gardener, was published in 2015 and her 2nd book, Container Gardening will be published in April this year.  She has also written a column for Coast magazine on highs and lows of coastal gardening.

Adam will be the Gardeners’ World presenter headlining the line-up on Saturday 4 May. he will be sharing practical spring gardening tips in the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage, alongside a member of the Gardeners’ WorldMagazine editorial team. and will also make a couple of appearances in the Club Lounge,with exclusive extra ‘In Conversation’ talks, where the expert talks frankly with a member of the magazine team about their life in gardening. The Club Lounge is for BBC GW Mag Subscribers AND Hillier Gardening Club Members.

 Brand new for 2024, after his day at the Show, Adam will be heading to Lime Wood Hotel (Lymington, Hampshire) where he’ll be hosting the Supper Club at Lime Wood, with Lime Wood’s chef director Luke Holder. Diners will be welcomed by Adam and Luke Holder, for a reception and talk with drinks, in Lime Wood's beautiful greenhouse. Adam and Luke will then take diners on a culinary adventure with their collaborative menu, showcasing local and seasonal ingredients, including some grown onsite in Lime Wood’s impressive green house. Tickets are exceptionally limited, ensuring an intimate atmosphere. 

Visitors can book the Supper Club on its own (on the Spring Fair box office) or with Spring Fair tickets, there’s no requirement to visit the Fair as part of it, though it would make for a really spectacular day!

Meet the experts - The Caley Brothers
Jodie and Lorraine of the Sussex-based Caley Brothers were raised in Surrey, with a childhood was enriched with home grown, nutritious and delicious food.  From working on their folks and gramps allotments to holiday cover on a livestock farm in the New Forest that included tractor driving, sheep herding, vineyard planting, hay bailing, egg collecting and lambing to prepping geese for the festive season and so much more.

It is these experiences that gave them a deep-rooted respect for good quality food, how to appreciate it, and what is just as important – how to source and support it. Within a year of growing their own mushrooms the curiosity surrounding our change in careers and the story behind why they were now ‘mushroom farmers’ had them making simple, small-scale kits for our family, our friends and friend of friends so they too could get growing their own mushrooms.

Join them for an Oyster Mushroom workshop at the Autumn Fair!

Chris Bavin is so full of character he was born to be on TV. After a TV production company first stumbled across him in 2011 he has gone from strength to strength and is currently co-presenting his fourth series of BBC1’s hugely successful series Eat Well For Less? With Gregg Wallace. The show has had incredible ratings across its first three series with the next two to be aired later on this year.

In addition to Eat Well for Less, Chris has presented Tomorrow’s Food with Dara O’Brian, The Truth about Meat and he is co-presenter of BBC1’s returning series Food: truth or scare with Gloria Hunniford.  

Chris is the co-founder of ‘The Naked Grocer’ a retail business that was twice voted as ‘National Independent Retailer of the Year’ award as well as ‘Best Contribution to the Community’ award. The Naked Grocer is now an online business supplying catering, fruit for offices as well as veg boxes for the public. www.thenakedgrocer.com

SEE CHRIS ON THE LET'S GROW STAGE

Chris Collins is Head of Horticulture at Garden Organic .He’s also a gardening writer, TV broadcaster, lecturer and horticultural consultant. Chris’s books include ‘Grow Your Own For Kids’.

Chris Graduated from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and has previously been Head Gardener Westminster Abbey.

He’s done much TV work including This Morning and being a former Blue Peter gardener.

Chris will be on the Let’s Grow Stage at the Fair, find out more below.

Frances is involved with the RHS campaign for school gardening and is passionate about enthusing young people to get into horticulture.  She is working on a number of community gardening projects in the South West and is also helping the redevelopment of some costal gardens that were damaged by the 2014 storms.  This is a particular passion of hers having grown up by the sea and was also part of her degree specialisation.

Frances is a popular choice for gardening talks and has appeared at Blenheim Palace Flower Show, Hampton Court Flower Show and the Eden Project Green Fingers Festival to name a few.  Hailing from Deal in Kent, Frances now lives in Exeter having completed her BSc in Horticulture with Plantmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2013.  Frances got into gardening from an early age, helping out around the garden at home and after overly ambitiously designing a terraced landscape in a planter, given to her by her mum, age 7, she was hooked.  As well as all things gardening Frances is a budding crafter and currently doing a pottery course.

Frances’ first book, First Time Gardener, was published in 2015 and her 2nd book, Container Gardening will be published in April this year.  She has also written a column for Coast magazine on highs and lows of coastal gardening.

Louise is Head Gardener at Audley End House and Gardens in Essex.

Following a career change from social care in her mid 30’s, Louise studied horticulture at Brooksby Melton College in Leicestershire and gain practical paid experience at the same time by working for a local garden centre, a specialist plant nursery and a large scale bedding grower.

Having successfully gained a place as a Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme Trainee (HBGTP) at Audley End in 2007, Louise spent 12 months working for the 2 Head Gardeners who managed the gardens at that time.  Once the traineeship was complete, Louise was kept on as a Gardener in the ornamental gardens, promoted to Senior Gardener several years later, and then became Head Gardener 4 years ago.  Louise is responsible for managing the 100 acres of gardens and grounds and works alongside a team of 11 staff and 60 volunteers.

Ade Sellars is a gardener, presenter, writer and content producer, with a passion for growing food in his kitchen garden. 
After working in London as a TV producer for many years, he re-trained with the Royal Horticultural Society at Capel Manor and Regent’s Park before upping sticks and moving to the heart of rural Suffolk to build the kitchen garden of his dreams and launch his gardening business.

As a regular garden writer for various magazines, Ade has presented on the QVC channel,  

BBC Radio Suffolk and regularly deliver talks and demonstrations around the country. Along with his wife Sophie, they write their award-winning garden and food blog, Agents of Field. 

Catch Ade on the Let’s Grow Stage on Sunday!

Sara Ward has transformed her Victorian terraced house in London into an urban smallholding, ‘Hen Corner’, complete with chickens, honeybees, fruit trees and overflowing veg patches. Last year they harvested £3,000 worth of food from their back garden. Her recent book ‘Living the Good Life in the City’ shares some of the ways she and her family have brought city and country together, and shows that you, too, can make a difference to how you live and the food you eat.

Arit Anderson is a garden designer, writer and presenter on BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World.

She spent 25 years working in the dynamic industries of retail fashion and creative events. She managed teams that delivered collections and events across the globe. She balanced this fast-paced career with interests in well-being, working as a therapist and teaching holistic therapies, which led her to travel extensively to the USA.

It was the joy of having her own garden that enabled Arit to diversify her creative experiences. She found that the visual nature of fashion and the healing properties of her therapies could beautifully meld in the garden. Playing with a new palette of colour and materials in her garden, drove her to explore the unique relationships between her love of plants, people and place.  After just one season, Arit knew she wanted horticulture to become her work as well as her pleasure.

She studied gardening at Capel Manor College and whilst there had success at RHS Chelsea 2013 winning the Fresh Talent category for a student design collaboration with two other students. After attaining a diploma in garden design, she won a Gold Medal for her own design at RHS Hampton Court in 2016 in the conceptual category.

In her designs for both private and commercial clients her ethos includes simplicity and environmental sensitivity – affecting her choice of products and plants at source, with regard to their future setting. Working as presenter for Gardeners World, and writing for national publications has enabled Arit to publicise issues about the future of gardening in an ever-changing climate, and promote solutions to the wider public.

Emma Crawforth is the Horticultural Editor of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and responsible for shaping gardening content that’s horticulturally correct.

Kew trained, she’s worked for the brand for over 10 years creating inspirational, problem-solving and thought-provoking features. At home she grows fruit, veg and flowers while tending her ornamental and productive gardens. Her book, Things to do with Plants, was published this year with the aim of helping us all connect more with the botanical world.

David Hurrion has spent more than 20 years writing for and editing the nation’s crop of garden magazines, and is now Associate Editor for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine.

David has also appeared both as a regular contributor and an horticultural commentator on a wide range of national and local radio programmes, as well as on television.

David’s knowledge is based on more than 40 years of growing plants, working in gardens and nurseries, and gardening his own plots in many different parts of the UK. He studied horticulture at Writtle College in Essex and went on to gain his certificate in education which took him to teach at some of the country’s foremost horticultural colleges. He has also travelled to every continent with the exception of antarctica to discover plants and gardens, both independently and, on more than 40 trips accompanying groups of gardeners.

Lucy Chamberlain & Saul Walker - BBC GWL Autumn Fair Preview 2023

Kevin Smith is the Editor of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and Head of Content for the GW brand. He’s worked for GW for the past 18 years and is responsible for leading the magazine’s content in print and on GardenersWorld.com, the GW podcast, social media and our live events.

Kevin’s a passionate gardener with a suburban plot in Essex that he shares with his wife and daughter – he’s trying to adapt the way he gardens to be more sustainable and better suit our changing climate. Kevin’s a regular radio contributor and has been a host of BBC Gardeners’ World Live theatres for several years.

Carol Klein - Gardeners World TV Show

Lucy Hutchings - The Secret Homestead Garden - 17 June 2023

Neil Gow - 101 Brand new plants 'Hot Off the Potting Bench'

Andrea Childs - Beth's Garden - Community Endeavour Award - 16 June 2023

Ruth Gwynn, Designer - Platinum Best Show Garden

Hilary Collins, Grafton Nurseries - Geoff Hamilton Award Winners 2023

Claire Morrell - Platinum Best Beautiful Border Winner 2023

Kevin Smith - Editor, Gardeners World Magazine - 16 June 2023

Ellen Mary - Plant based living - 16 June 2023

Jason Williams - The Cloud Gardener - 15 June 2023 

Stephanie Hafferty - No dig gardening - 15 June 2023

David Stevens - Garden Walk Leader - 15 June 2023

David Hurrion - Show gardens and exotic plants -  15 June 2023

Darren Rudge - Local gardening talent at the Show - 15 June 2023

Michael Perry - The Plant Geek - BBC Gardeners' World Live 2023 Preview

Lucy Bravington is the award winning designer behind the Liz Earle Beauty Co.’s Botanical Show Garden at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2023. The garden will harness the power of plants for feelings of wellbeing, featuring perennial plants to showcase the botanicals included in many Liz Earle Beauty Co. products, such as echinacea, rosemary and lavender. Every day, Liz Earle’s ethnobotanist, James Wong, will be on the garden to talk to visitors and share insights into the power of plants.

 The focal point of the garden is a sculpture inspired by brand’s coastal home and the Fibonacci spiral which represents the efficacious nature of Liz Earle Beauty Co. products.

Chris Collins is Head of Horticulture at Garden Organic .He’s also a gardening writer, TV broadcaster, lecturer and horticultural consultant. Chris’s books include ‘Grow Your Own For Kids’.

Chris Graduated from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and has previously been Head Gardener Westminster Abbey.

He’s done much TV work including This Morning and being a former Blue Peter gardener.

The Show Gardens at BBC Gardeners’ World Live are known for their inspirational design and planting whilst being relatable and packed with practical ideas that visitors can recreate in their own gardens. 

Visitors will enjoy the Show Gardens, feature gardens, APL Avenue, Showcase Gardens and Beautiful Borders in a relaxed and engaging atmosphere with picnics, bandstand entertainment and magic moments around every corner.

A Garden Fit for a King, by Paul Stone
 
In this year of the Coronation, this stunning take on
gardening for the future will celebrate The HRH King Charles
III’s passion for gardening and his concern for the
environment. This beautiful manifestation of the King’s
ideology is inspired by the ecosystem of the Highgrove
Arboretum, incorporating a natural wildflower carpet
interspersed with the King’s favourite trees, Magnolia,
Beech, Acer and Cherry.
Visitors will be inspired by sustainable initiatives that the King has integrated into the renowned gardens at
Highgrove and to recreate aspects to create their own ecosystem at home. There will be many recognisable hints
of Highgrove, plus an atmospheric Bothy cottage made from natural building materials, which visitors will be able
to meander through as part of the garden experience.

Nicki Chapman will be the host of ‘In Conversation’ talks at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2023, as well as hosting a unique series of talks on the headline show garden ‘A Garden Fit for a King’ and on the Let’s Talk Plants Stage.

Nicki is an accomplished TV presenter and broadcaster known for her work including ‘Wanted Down Under’, the nation’s favourite ‘Escape To The Country’ and its spin-off, ‘I Escape To The Country’ for BBC1.

She has become a mainstay of the BBC presenting team, being a central figure during The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, broadcasting live as well as being a contributor on Morning Live and recently narrating the long-running classic, Points of View.

Nicki is a regular presenter for Radio 2, often sitting in for Zoe Ball on the Breakfast Show and Vanessa Feltz on Early Breakfast.  She has also hosted three documentaries: The Fuller Picture (an in-depth interview with music entrepreneur Simon Fuller), Here We Come – The Monkees at 50 and Let’s Abba Party.

For television, she has also recently presented three documentary programmes for the BBC, the Dave Myers’ hosted Operation People Power, Britain’s Home Truths and Holding Back The Years. On top of this, Nicki is a much sought after event host and speaker and is a qualified coach offering empowerment and advisory skills to celebrities, individuals and corporate businesses alike.

Women’s health takes centre stage at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live (NEC Birmingham, 15-18 June) as leading menopause expert, Dr. Louise Newson, joins forces with award-winning garden designer, Ruth Gwynn, to create the Newson Health Menopause Show Garden.

 The walk-through Show Garden reflects Newson Health’s ethos of inclusive and accessible menopause support for everyone. It is designed to evoke feelings of community, creating a safe, tranquil and comfortable space for women to reflect on their health and to discover the nutritional and physical power of plants for mental health and wellbeing. There will be interactive ‘symptom stations’ exploring different aspects of menopause and perimenopause, with clinicians and experts on hand with information and advice about diet and nutrition, the wide-reaching benefits of gardening, exercise, mindfulness and mental wellbeing. 

Ruth Gwynn, who co-designed Frances Tophill’s Platinum Award winning and ‘Best In Show’ Show Garden at last year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live, has selected plants for the Newson Health Menopause Garden which will create a visually enriching yet calm atmosphere. There will be an area for relaxation, a yoga corner and also an area for outdoor cooking.

Find out more at bbcgardenersworldlive.com

Adam Frost is an award-winning British garden designer, television presenter and motivational speaker.

Best known for his successes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, he is passionate about inspiring adults and children alike to create their own gardens and watch hedgerows spring to life appreciating each one of our distinct seasons as they unfold.

Adam is a presenter on BBC’s Gardeners’ World(BBC Two) and also appears regularly on the BBC’s coverage of RHS Flower Show. He has also featured on The One Showand DIY SOS(BBC One) as well as The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV). In 2016 he won ‘Best New Talent’ at the RTS West Awards.

Since 2007, Adam has amassed seven gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He regularly lectures on a wide range of horticultural topics, both nationally and internationally and is a regular contributor to Gardeners’ Worldand other horticultural magazines. Adam’s first book Real Gardenswas published in 2015 by Red Planet Publishing. His second book ‘RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space’is available now, published by DK.

Adam’s love for the great outdoors started from a young age when he helped on his grandparent’s allotment. His fascination with watching plants and vegetables grown and the wildlife it attracted has stayed with him and he remains passionate about passing this on to future generations.

He is trained in horticulture and landscape design and began his professional career in the mid-1980’s with an apprenticeship at the North Devon Parks Department. Adam later moved to Rutland where he began working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens where he helped design and create many of the 38 small gardens which are still on show to the public today.

In 2014 Adam set up The Homebase Garden Academy with the specific aim of helping Britain’s next generation of horticulture students to kick-start their careers, by teaching them about garden design and landscaping. As well as running his own garden design and landscape business he also sits on the board for the Horticulture Trades Association; is an RHS Ambassador and runs The Adam Frost Garden School where he hosts masterclasses on design and other gardening courses.

Adam and his wife Sulina live in Lincolnshire with their four children, one horse, two ponies, two dogs and an ancient cat.

Adam is a natural speaker who credits his love of horticulture from his earliest childhood memories, to working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens, before going solo in 1996 for the rollercoaster ride of designing multiple award-winning show gardens!

He enjoys passing on his knowledge and travels all over the world speaking to people about his ‘journey so far.’

From a lifetime in the garden, Adam’s talks are always full of amusing stories, as well as advice and inspiration for anyone hoping to have a career in horticulture.

Joe Bagley is the creator of ukhouseplants.com which influences and teaches people about houseplant care in a simplistic, standardised way.

You might have heard Joe on BBC Radio Leicester every Sunday and Tuesday where he shares ‘Joe’s Houseplant of the Week’ and discusses a whole range of easy-to-find plants and how to care for them. 

Find Joe in daily sessions on the House Plant Hub stage at BBC Gardeners’ World Live where he will share his expertise on houseplant care every day of the Show! 

Sue Kent will be designing a Beautiful Border at BBC Gardeners’ World Live. She will be appearing on her Border daily as well as giving a talk each day on the Let’s Talk Plant Stage and in the BBC Gardeners’ World Subscribers’ Lounge.

In 2020, Sue Kent launched her gardening career by sending a viewer’s home video to BBC2 Gardeners’ World; it was such a hit that she is now a regular presenter on the show, winning a Garden Media Award for her efforts.

Born with an upper limb disability caused by the drug Thalidomide, Sue used her feet and hands to the garden. From her own life experience and her passion for gardening, Sue is keen to show how gardening can be possible with physical limitations and encourage others to have a go whatever their ability may be. Sue is now RHS ambassador for disability inclusions. In July 2022 Sue received a Silver Gilt medal and The People’s Choice award At RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival for her garden.

Alan Titchmarsh was born and brought up on the edge of Ilkley Moor.  He left school at fifteen and became an apprentice gardener in the local nursery, following this with full-time training at horticultural college and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Alan was the main presenter of Gardeners’ World and the hugely popular Ground Force, and has also presented How To Be A Gardener, British Isles – A Natural History, The Great British Village Show, The Nature of Britain. His own daytime show on ITV, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, featured a combination of music, the arts and conversation, which ran for eight years and he presents his own radio show on Classic FM on Saturday mornings. This year we saw Alan’s new show for ITV, Masterpiece as well as the sixth series of Love Your Garden, ITV.

He writes regularly in BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and Country Life and is gardening correspondent of The Daily Express and The Sunday Express, and writes in The Sunday Telegraph as well.  Alan has written more than 50 gardening books, a Christmas anthology, nine novels, four volumes of memoirs and a miscellany celebrating England and Englishness.

In 1997 Alan was named “Yorkshire Man of the Year”.  He was appointed MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours List, and a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire in 2001, when he was also immortalised by Madame Tussaud’s.  In 2004 he received the Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest accolade in the British gardening world, and in 2009 he was made a Vice President of the Royal Horticultural Society.  He is patron or president of over 50 charities.

Saul Walker fell in love with horticulture through his Grandparents passion for visiting historic houses and gardens, and after a brief spell as an Archaeologist, he went to train and work as a Gardener for the National Trust at Antony House in Cornwall.
 
After many years there he was accepted to study on the prestigious 3-year Kew Diploma of Botanical Horticulture at RBG, Kew and was exposed to the fantastic plant collections in the gardens and glasshouses, as well as travelling to Australia, Southern Spain and the French Riviera to study plants in their native habitats.

Following his time at Kew he spent a couple of years as part of the Show management teams for both the RHS Hampton Court Palace and RHS Chelsea Flower Show respectively, however he was unable to resist the call back to his native Devon, where he is now the Head Gardener of Stonelands House- a privately owned 10-acre garden. Saul’s speciality interests include Woodland Gardens, Orchids, and Exotic plants.

A member of the RHS Tender Plant Committee and Trustee of The Hardy Plant Society and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, he also co-hosts the Talking Heads Podcast with Lucy Chamberlain.

Find out more and book tickets at https://www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com/spring-fair/

Lucy was raised at her parents’ market garden in Essex, before venturing to further her horticultural education at Writtle and Wye colleges.
 

With an Honours Degree in plant sciences she then worked at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden (RHS) Wisley. After six years she left to pursue a career as a garden writer – first, for four years at Amateur Gardening magazine and then for six years as Editor of Grow Your Own magazine. She is now Head Gardener at East Donyland Hall – a 100- acre private estate which is home to a sizeable walled garden. Lucy is author of the book, The RHS Step-by-Step Veg Patch, and she also regularly writes for gardening magazines such as Gardeners’ World, The Garden and Amateur Gardening. She regularly podcasts with her Head Gardener friend, Saul Walker, on the Talking Heads gardening podcast. Lucy is also the gardening expert for BBC Essex radio, and she won Practical Journalist of the Year in 2020. 

Known as ‘The People’s Gardener’, Matt Biggs trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has presented a number of television programmes, written several books and undertake lectures and talks.

He is best known for his regular appearances on Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time. 

Celebrate summer gardening with a great day out at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC, from 15 – 18 June 2023.

The ultimate gardener’s day out includes inspirational Show Gardens and Beautiful Borders, vast Floral Marquee, top gardening experts including Frances Tophill, along with Monty Don, Carol Klein, Adam Frost and Alan Titchmarsh; great shopping, live entertainment and more.
 
Frances Tophill will be at the Show on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 June. Visitors can see Frances sharing practical advice about ‘what to do now’ in your garden on the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre hosted by the Magazine editors. Frances will also take part in ‘In Conversation’ talks with Nicki Chapman, will appear on the new drop-in Let’s Talk Plants Stage, and more.
 
Find out more and book tickets at bbcgardenersworldlive.com

Arit Anderson is a garden designer, writer and presenter on BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World.

She spent 25 years working in the dynamic industries of retail fashion and creative events. She managed teams that delivered collections and events across the globe. She balanced this fast-paced career with interests in well-being, working as a therapist and teaching holistic therapies, which led her to travel extensively to the USA.

It was the joy of having her own garden that enabled Arit to diversify her creative experiences. She found that the visual nature of fashion and the healing properties of her therapies could beautifully meld in the garden. Playing with a new palette of colour and materials in her garden, drove her to explore the unique relationships between her love of plants, people and place.  After just one season, Arit knew she wanted horticulture to become her work as well as her pleasure.

She studied gardening at Capel Manor College and whilst there had success at RHS Chelsea 2013 winning the Fresh Talent category for a student design collaboration with two other students. After attaining a diploma in garden design, she won a Gold Medal for her own design at RHS Hampton Court in 2016 in the conceptual category.

In her designs for both private and commercial clients her ethos includes simplicity and environmental sensitivity – affecting her choice of products and plants at source, with regard to their future setting. Working as presenter for Gardeners World, and writing for national publications has enabled Arit to publicise issues about the future of gardening in an ever-changing climate, and promote solutions to the wider public.

Adam Frost is an award-winning British garden designer, television presenter and motivational speaker.

Best known for his successes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, he is passionate about inspiring adults and children alike to create their own gardens and watch hedgerows spring to life appreciating each one of our distinct seasons as they unfold.

Adam is a presenter on BBC’s Gardeners’ World(BBC Two) and also appears regularly on the BBC’s coverage of RHS Flower Show. He has also featured on The One Showand DIY SOS(BBC One) as well as The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV). In 2016 he won ‘Best New Talent’ at the RTS West Awards.

Since 2007, Adam has amassed seven gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He regularly lectures on a wide range of horticultural topics, both nationally and internationally and is a regular contributor to Gardeners’ Worldand other horticultural magazines. Adam’s first book Real Gardenswas published in 2015 by Red Planet Publishing. His second book ‘RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space’is available now, published by DK.

Adam’s love for the great outdoors started from a young age when he helped on his grandparent’s allotment. His fascination with watching plants and vegetables grown and the wildlife it attracted has stayed with him and he remains passionate about passing this on to future generations.

He is trained in horticulture and landscape design and began his professional career in the mid-1980’s with an apprenticeship at the North Devon Parks Department. Adam later moved to Rutland where he began working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens where he helped design and create many of the 38 small gardens which are still on show to the public today.

In 2014 Adam set up The Homebase Garden Academy with the specific aim of helping Britain’s next generation of horticulture students to kick-start their careers, by teaching them about garden design and landscaping. As well as running his own garden design and landscape business he also sits on the board for the Horticulture Trades Association; is an RHS Ambassador and runs The Adam Frost Garden School where he hosts masterclasses on design and other gardening courses.

Adam and his wife Sulina live in Lincolnshire with their four children, one horse, two ponies, two dogs and an ancient cat.

Adam is a natural speaker who credits his love of horticulture from his earliest childhood memories, to working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens, before going solo in 1996 for the rollercoaster ride of designing multiple award-winning show gardens!

He enjoys passing on his knowledge and travels all over the world speaking to people about his ‘journey so far.’

From a lifetime in the garden, Adam’s talks are always full of amusing stories, as well as advice and inspiration for anyone hoping to have a career in horticulture.

Lucy Chamberlain - BBC Gardeners' World Spring Fair 2023 Preview

Saul Walker fell in love with horticulture through his Grandparents passion for visiting historic houses and gardens, and after a brief spell as an Archaeologist, he went to train and work as a Gardener for the National Trust at Antony House in Cornwall.
 
After many years there he was accepted to study on the prestigious 3-year Kew Diploma of Botanical Horticulture at RBG, Kew and was exposed to the fantastic plant collections in the gardens and glasshouses, as well as travelling to Australia, Southern Spain and the French Riviera to study plants in their native habitats. 

Following his time at Kew he spent a couple of years as part of the Show management teams for both the RHS Hampton Court Palace and RHS Chelsea Flower Show respectively, however he was unable to resist the call back to his native Devon, where he is now the Head Gardener of Stonelands House- a privately owned 10-acre garden. Saul’s speciality interests include Woodland Gardens, Orchids, and Exotic plants. 

A member of the RHS Tender Plant Committee and Trustee of The Hardy Plant Society and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, he also co-hosts the Talking Heads Podcast with Lucy Chamberlain. 

Find out more and book tickets at bbcgardenersworldfair.com

Known as ‘The People’s Gardener’, Matt Biggs trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has presented a number of television programmes, written several books and undertake lectures and talks.

He is best known for his regular appearances on Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time. 

Start the gardening season in style at the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, taking place at Beaulieu in the New Forest, from 28-30 April 2023.

Get your garden ready for the year ahead with inspiration from Showcase Gardens and Beautiful Borders; the Hillier Experience; expertise on tap at the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage and Theatre of Greens; shopping from over 100 exhibitors of plants and gardening kit; hands on workshops and exclusive tours; plus street food, BBC Good Food Market, bandstand entertainment and access to all the Beaulieu attractions.

 Frances Tophill will be at the Spring Fair on Friday 28 April. Visitors can see Frances sharing practical advice about ‘what to do now’ in your garden on the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage along with the magazine editors. Arit Anderson heads to the Fair on Saturday and Adam Frost on Sunday.

Find out more and book tickets at bbcgardenersworldfair.com

Chris Collins - Garden Organic - 2022 Show Preview

Visit Audley Ends attractions and gardens

Enjoy a day out exploring the spacious grounds and estate of one of England’s grandest mansions, Audley End.  Whether you’re exploring the servant’s wing, state rooms, stables, kitchen garden or beautiful grounds, you’ll discover what life was like at a Victorian country house.

Whether you’re exploring the servant’s wing, state rooms, stables, kitchen garden or beautiful grounds, you’ll discover how a what life was like above and below stairs at a Victorian country house.

Wander the glorious state rooms, reflecting the taste of the third Lord Braybrooke, who redecorated many of its rooms in the Jacobean style in the 1820s. Make yourself at home and feel free to play the piano, play with the toys in the nursery or step into Lady Braybrooke’s private apartments, lit for her return from an evening party. Explore the Service Wing including historic kitchens, a dairy and laundry rooms to see what life would have been like for the Victorian servants that worked there. Take a stroll over to the stable yard to meet the horses and find out the story of the estate at work and play.

Wander the award-winning gardens, remodelled by Capability Brown. Marvel at the formal, beautifully restored parterre and cloud hedge before admiring the organic kitchen garden. Wander through the acres of parkland to discover the peaceful Elysian Garden, Temple of Concord and memorial to the Second World War Polish resistance soldiers.

Arit will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair onSaturday 3 September.

Joe will also be at BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair onSunday 4 September.

Plant Expert Tour

Autumn garden inspiration will be in abundance as you join a Plant Expert Tour at the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair.

Emma O'Neil - Garden Organic - 2022 Show Preview

Feature Garden Platinum Award Winner

This year marks the BBCs 100th year and, to celebrate, a host of displays in the Floral Marquee will be inspired by popular BBC programmes. Find out more about Alexandra Froggatts’ feature, inspired by the Peaky Blinders.

Find out when she’s on the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage here.

Frances Tophill will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022 on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Find out when she’s on the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre here.

In 2016 Frances joined BBC’s Gardeners’ World doing a few strands for the programme, one on vegetable seed trials which she worked on from her local RHS garden, RHS Rosemoor and another on gardens situated in extreme locations.

Frances is involved with the RHS campaign for school gardening and is passionate about enthusing young people to get into horticulture.  She is working on a number of community gardening projects in the South West and is also helping the redevelopment of some costal gardens that were damaged by the 2014 storms.  This is a particular passion of hers having grown up by the sea and was also part of her degree specialisation.

Frances is a popular choice for gardening talks and has appeared at Blenheim Palace Flower Show, Hampton Court Flower Show and the Eden Project Green Fingers Festival to name a few.  Hailing from Deal in Kent, Frances now lives in Exeter having completed her BSc in Horticulture with Plantmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2013.  Frances got into gardening from an early age, helping out around the garden at home and after overly ambitiously designing a terraced landscape in a planter, given to her by her mum, age 7, she was hooked.  As well as all things gardening Frances is a budding crafter and currently doing a pottery course.

Frances’ first book, First Time Gardener, was published in 2015 and her 2nd book, Container Gardening will be published in April this year.  She has also written a column for Coast magazine on highs and lows of coastal gardening.

Book to see Pippa on stage for her sessions on House Plants with British Garden Centres 

Pippa Greenwood trained as a botanist at Durham University (BSc hons) and then gained an MSc. in Crop Protection at Reading University. In 2007 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by The University of Durham.

In 1985, Pippa started working at The Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden at Wisley in Surrey, where she ran the Plant Pathology Department, answering several thousand gardening queries every year. In 1988 I began working for the BBC, joining Alan Titchmarsh for the weekly gardening slot on BBC 1’s Daytime Live.

For over 13 years, Pippa was a regular presenter on BBC 2’s ‘Gardeners’ World’, presenting items on garden pests and diseases, science and gardening, and creating and running my organic kitchen garden from her Hampshire garden.  She is also a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time.

Pippa presented my own series, ‘Growing Science’ on BBC Radio 4. and was the Presenter on BBC Radio Solent’s ‘Topsoil with Pippa Greenwood’, a three hour gardening and music show.

Pippa was the gardening consultant for the ITV murder mystery series Rosemary and Thyme starring Pam Ferris and Felicity Kendal, advising on the gardening sub-plot and other plant related matters, and the gardening personalities of the two actresses!

She has several regular writing commitments including BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine & NFU Countryside and for 18 years was the gardening columnist for The Mirror newspaper.

Pippa has written many books including the bestsellers, ‘New Gardener’ (in excess of one and a half million copies sold) & Gardening Hints and Tips, RHS Garden Pests and Diseases, Garden Problem Solver, Flower Gardener,  Pippa’s Organic Kitchen Garden,  A Garden for All Seasons, Pippa Greenwood’s Gardening Year, 1001 Ways to be a Better Gardener.  She co-authored The Gardeners’ Question Time book. Her latest publication is The Gardener’s Year (Summersdale).

Adam Frost will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022 on Saturday and Sunday.

Find out when he’s on the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre here.

Adam will also be at BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair onFriday 2 September.

Adam Frost, seven-time Chelsea gold medallist, started his career building Geoff Hamilton’s gardens for the BBC at Barnsdale.

In 2013, he helped set up the Homebase Garden Academy and in 2014 became an RHS Ambassador to raise the profile of horticulture and encourage secondary schools to embrace gardening.

Recently, he wrote and published his own book ‘Real Gardens’ which tells the journey of his award winning Chelsea gardens.

Joe Bagley - UK House Plants

Paul Stone - Designer - The Archers Garden

Tim Cutting - Michael Wheat Group  - Nostalgic Experience Garden

Jo Fell - Head Grower Hilliers

Professor David Stevens FSGD, FCI Hort is one of the best known garden designers in the world.

He originally trained as a landscape architect and went on to form his own private practice in 1972. He was offered and accepted the first Chair of Garden Design at Middlesex University. 

David’s 26 RHS Chelsea Flower Show medals, 11 of which have been gold, and three Best Garden in Show awards have ensured his success. He has additionally won three Gold Medals at The Hampton Court International Flower Show as well as awards in South Africa, Australia and Best Garden in Show Awards at Shizuoka and Hamamatsu in Japan. He has just won yet another Gold Award at BBC Gardeners’ World Live. 

David has been a gardening consultant to B and Q Retail, Wyevale, Homes and Gardens Magazine and was also chosen as the designer to create a public memorial to Princess Diana at the Royal National Rose Society gardens in Hertfordshire. 

David has contributed articles to virtually every gardening publication including The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph. He is the author of 21 books on landscape and garden design selling many million copies. 

He pioneered garden design on television with the acclaimed six part series Gardens by Design, this being followed by an equally popular series Gardenwise both for the BBC. He has worked as a TV guest presenter for numerous garden shows including BBC coverage of the Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows, Gardeners’ World, Grassroots, and the long running TVS series ‘That’s Gardening’. He runs a thriving practice and continues to broadcast around the world and teaches both in the UK and the superb Filoli Gardens in California. 

David has also appeared both as a regular contributor and an horticultural commentator on a wide range of national and local radio programmes, as well as on television.

David’s knowledge is based on more than 40 years of growing plants, working in gardens and nurseries, and gardening his own plots in many different parts of the UK. He studied horticulture at Writtle College in Essex and went on to gain his certificate in education which took him to teach at some of the country’s foremost horticultural colleges. He has also travelled to every continent with the exception of antarctica to discover plants and gardens, both independently and, on more than 40 trips accompanying groups of gardeners. Click here for his website.

Joe is a familiar gardening face having been a regular presenter on BBC Gardeners World since 1998. He also anchors The BBC coverage of The Chelsea Flower show and other RHS shows and has presented several gardening series over the years.

Joe is the Design Director of Modular, a garden design and build brand. He has won many design awards including a Chelsea Gold Medal and Society of Garden designers awards.

Joe writes a weekly column for The Times and Radio Times Magazine and has written eight books, including his most recent a series of Expert Guides for Collins.

Lucy Hall is the Editor of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, taking over from founding editor Adam Pasco in 2012, after 10 years as Deputy Editor.

Her earliest memory is the smell and taste of fresh tomatoes in her grandfather’s greenhouse and, from then on, she was hooked on growing her own.

Growing up north of the border, Lucy was raised on a diet of Beechgrove Garden, as well as Geoff Hamilton’s Gardeners’ World, while these days she gardens in the west country, in a awkwardly narrow garden. At BBC Gardeners’ World Live, she’ll be sharing tips and tricks for growing success in the smallest space

Saul Walker fell in love with horticulture through his Grandparents passion for visiting historic houses and gardens, and after a brief spell as an Archaeologist, he went to train and work as a Gardener for the National Trust at Antony House in Cornwall.

After many years there he was accepted to study on the prestigious 3-year Kew Diploma of Botanical Horticulture at RBG, Kew and was exposed to the fantastic plant collections in the gardens and glasshouses, as well as travelling to Australia, Southern Spain and the French Riviera to study plants in their native habitats. Following his time at Kew he spent a couple of years as part of the Show management teams for both the RHS Hampton Court Palace and RHS Chelsea Flower Show respectively, however he was unable to resist the call back to his native Devon, where he is now the Head Gardener of Stonelands House- a privately owned 10-acre garden. Saul’s speciality interests include Woodland Gardens, Orchids, Exotic and Aline plants. A member of the RHS Tender Plant Committee and Trustee of The Hardy Plant Society and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, he also co-hosts the Talking Heads Podcast with Lucy Chamberlain. 

Lucy was raised at her parents’ market garden in Essex, before venturing to further her horticultural education at Writtle and Wye colleges.

With an Honours Degree in plant sciences she then worked at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden (RHS) Wisley. After six years she left to pursue a career as a garden writer – first, for four years at Amateur Gardening magazine and then for six years as Editor of Grow Your Own magazine. She is now Head Gardener at East Donyland Hall – a 100- acre private estate which is home to a sizeable walled garden. Lucy is author of the book, The RHS Step-by-Step Veg Patch, and she also regularly writes for gardening magazines such as Gardeners’ World, The Garden and Amateur Gardening. She regularly podcasts with her Head Gardener friend, Saul Walker, on the Talking Heads gardening podcast. Lucy is also the gardening expert for BBC Essex radio, and she won Practical Journalist of the Year in 2020. 

Neil Gow - Best New Plant Winner - Sweet Pea Peter Seabrook

Bob Sweet - Horticultural Director GWL

Chris Collins - Garden Organic - Gold Award winner

Cathy Perry - Beautiful Borders Platinum Award 

Darren is a multi award winning garden designer, broadcaster, lecturer and garden writer.
He has spent his career delivering and managing horticultural and other land based qualifications as well as running a successful garden design consultancy. He was one of the first recipients of the City and Guilds medal of excellence.

Darren regularly has articles published in the gardening press and is the permanent gardening expert for BBC WM 95.6 in the West Midlands; know as “ the Laughing Gardener” he was nominated for a garden media guild award in 2016 and 2017 for his novel and inspirational approaches to gardening issues and problems.

Darren is a garden judge at National shows and also mentors school children through the green plan it Challenge run by the Royal Horticultural Society; aimed at getting children involved in gardening and living healthier lifestyles.

PlantGrow is proud to be the first in the UK to produce an award-winning range of completely organic approved fertiliser products made from a renewable energy process, with no chemicals, no peat, no animal waste and plenty of natural goodness. PlantGrow's organic approved fertilisers & composts are made entirely from plants, packed full of micronutrients and are leading the way to a more sustainable future.

A “totally natural, sustainable, and chemical-free” product, not only is PlantGrow unique but it's perfect for any growing task in your garden or allotment. PlantGrow does not only contain Nitrogen, Phosphorous & potassium but it's plant-based ingredients are packed full of micronutrients perfect for conditioning soils and supporting healthy plant growth.

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Arit Anderson will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022 on Sunday.

Find out when she’s on the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre here.

Link: Book Tickets

Arit will also be at BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair onSaturday 3 September.

Leading the production team, ensuring all plants are grown in the correct environment with the necessary nutrition, watering and cultural techniques. I also lead the team for all plant production and preparation for show plants.

Matt Biggs will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair 2022 Everyday.

Find out when he’s on theBBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage.

Known as ‘The Peoples Gardener’, Matt Biggs trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has presented a number of television programmes, written several books and undertake lectures and talks. He is best known for his regular appearances on Radio 4 gardeners’ question time. 

Frances Tophill will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair 2022 on Sunday.

Find out when she’s on the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stagehere.

In 2016 Frances joined BBC’s Gardeners’ World doing a few strands for the programme, one on vegetable seed trials which she worked on from her local RHS garden, RHS Rosemoor and another on gardens situated in extreme locations.

Frances is involved with the RHS campaign for school gardening and is passionate about enthusing young people to get into horticulture.  She is working on a number of community gardening projects in the South West and is also helping the redevelopment of some costal gardens that were damaged by the 2014 storms.  This is a particular passion of hers having grown up by the sea and was also part of her degree specialisation.

Frances is a popular choice for gardening talks and has appeared at Blenheim Palace Flower Show, Hampton Court Flower Show and the Eden Project Green Fingers Festival to name a few.  Hailing from Deal in Kent, Frances now lives in Exeter having completed her BSc in Horticulture with Plantmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2013.  Frances got into gardening from an early age, helping out around the garden at home and after overly ambitiously designing a terraced landscape in a planter, given to her by her mum, age 7, she was hooked.  As well as all things gardening Frances is a budding crafter and currently doing a pottery course.

Frances’ first book, First Time Gardener, was published in 2015 and her 2nd book, Container Gardening will be published in April this year.  She has also written a column for Coast magazine on highs and lows of coastal gardening.

Adam Frost will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair 2022 on Friday 29 April.

Find out when he’s on the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stagehere.

Adam Frost, seven-time Chelsea gold medallist, started his career building Geoff Hamilton’s gardens for the BBC at Barnsdale.

In 2013, he helped set up the Homebase Garden Academy and in 2014 became an RHS Ambassador to raise the profile of horticulture and encourage secondary schools to embrace gardening.

Recently, he wrote and published his own book ‘Real Gardens’ which tells the journey of his award winning Chelsea gardens.

Joe Swift will be at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair 2022 on Saturday.

Find out when he’s on the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage.

Joe is a familiar gardening face having been a regular presenter on BBC Gardeners World since 1998. He also anchors The BBC coverage of The Chelsea Flower show and other RHS shows and has presented several gardening series over the years.

Joe is the Design Director of Modular, a garden design and build brand. He has won many design awards including a Chelsea Gold Medal and Society of Garden designers awards.

Joe writes a weekly column for The Times and Radio Times Magazine and has written eight books, including his most recent a series of Expert Guides for Collins.