Win a pair of tickets to BBC Gardeners' World Spring Fair on Sunday 30 April

*** This competition is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered ***

I’ve paired up with the team at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair on this competition where you can enter to win a pair of standard adult tickets to the Spring Fair which returns to Beaulieu this year.  The tickets offered as the prize for this competition are valid for Sunday 30 April only, 9.30am entry, with a RRP of £48.00. For details of how to enter please see the ‘How to enter’ section further down in this post.

You can also use the discount code* SAVE10 for 10% off standard adult/concession entry tickets, for tickets on Friday 28 and Sunday 30 April for entry at 9.30am and 11.30am only, further information about using the discount code is also provided below.

I’ve attended the BBC Gardeners’ World Live show a couple of times now, though I’ve not been to the Spring or Autumn Fairs, so I’m also looking forward to visiting for the first time. The highlights of this year’s Spring Fair include the spectacular Hillier Secret Garden, Paul Stone’s edible showcase garden, Beautiful Borders, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage, Plant Expert Tours, plant and garden shopping, mushroom growing and floral workshops, the BBC Good Food Market, live music, and all of Beaulieu’s attractions.

It sounds like it’s going to be a brilliant, informative and busy day. If previous experiences are anything to go by, I recommend wearing shoes comfortable to walk and walk and walk in, bringing a tote bag (or several) for anything which may ‘call’ to you and a camera to capture the inspiration on display, which if you’re anything like me will completely fill your phone’s storage!

What to see at this year’s Spring Fair

• The Hillier Secret Garden: inspired by The Secret Garden, expect a stunning walk-through garden enclosed by high hedges and containing a display of colour-co-ordinated plants and shrubs portraying the movement of the sun during a spring day. Colours from cool whites and purples of daybreak to fiery reds and oranges of sunset, with trees featuring prominently.

• Paul Stone’s showcase garden Theatre of Greens: the garden will be packed with veg and edible plants, alongside a programme of daily talks hosted by Chris Bavin. Guests will feature ‘grow your own’ gurus including Garden Organic’s Head of Horticulture and former Blue Peter gardener, Chris Collins and fungi experts The Caley Brothers.

• All of the Beautiful Borders which offer inspiration for small gardens and challenging spaces with the theme of ‘My Garden Escape’, and on a micro scale, organic gardening charity, Garden Organic, will present a 1m x 1m design inspired by bugs, birds and biodiversity, featuring a veg plot, composting system and high-rise bug hotel. This is the part of the shows where MOH despairs of me, I like to see them all and can be quite methodical about making sure I have seen everything!

• Budget-friendly gardens: Horticultural students from Kingston Maurward, Merrist Wood and Cannington Campus (Bridgewater and Taunton College) will create budget-friendly gardens, under the expert eye of mentor Cherry Carmen, the award-winning garden designer whose accolades include a Gold Award at BBC Gardeners’ World Live.

• Plant Expert Tours: for an additional cost you can explore the Beaulieu gardens with half-hour tours led by plant experts,  Lucy Chamberlain and Beaulieu Head Gardener Kelvin Yapp on the Kitchen Garden tour, or Saul Walker and Beaulieu’s Dan Turner on the Ornamental Garden tour.

• The BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage features special guests, Frances Tophill (Friday), Arit Anderson (Saturday) and Adam Frost (Sunday), who will be joining the Magazine’s editors to share practical advice about ‘what to do now’ in your garden.

Add to all of this more than 100 exhibitors with outdoor and indoor plants, garden tools, kit and accessories, the BBC Good Food Market, live entertainment and everything that Beaulieu has to offer, I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a long, but rewarding and inspirational day!

How to enter:

To enter to win a pair of standard adult tickets valid for Sunday 30 April only, 9.30am entry leave a comment on this blog post sharing what you most enjoy about gardening or spending time in gardens, then click on the link below and complete your entry.

Win a pair of standard adult tickets for the BBC Gardeners' World Spring Fair at Beaulieu valid on Sunday 30 April only, 9.30am entry

A winner will be chosen on 26 March and contacted by email. 

Save 10% off standard adult/concession entry tickets

You can use the discount code* SAVE10 for 10% off standard adult/concession entry tickets.

* Discount is valid on adult/concessions standard entry tickets for Friday 28 and Sunday 30 April for entry at 09:30am and 11.30am only. Not valid on 1:30pm tickets, added extras, or with any other offer. Ends 23:59 on 10 April 2023. £3.95 transaction fee per e-ticket order. Details correct at time of publication. 

My garden in February

When I sat down to write this regular post I wasn’t sure just how many photos I’d have from the garden this month, but there were more than I thought. Though it’s not been a great month for getting out there and seeing what’s going on, and when I have it’s either been a brief visit because of the temperature, or I’ve kept moving to keep warm!

There have been glimpses of sunshine though, the photos don’t lie and the shy hellebores below look glorious now that we can spot them on the patio from inside the house. The photos only partially tell the truth too, it’s still February so isn’t quite as warm in the whole garden as you’d think.

But the story of February is lush green bulb growth, and that brings promise doesn’t it?

I’m still so pleased that previous me planted tulip bulbs in the largest plastic pots I had so that they could be swapped into nicer terracotta pots on the patio when they flower. This has meant I’ve been able to free up pots for summer bedding, which as you know stayed to be winter bedding thanks to the milder autumn. It’s such a simple thing, but something I’m definitely going to do more of when planting bulbs.

Every now and then we get a glimpse of yellow which can be seen from the house, and it’s often a brave daffodil. Or a cheeky one.

The daffodil above was an early flower-er, and ahead of a frost. But it’s hardy, and is not just a little bit more horizontal than I suspect it’s supposed to be.

It’s not just the bulbs that are showing promise, my potted rhubarb plant also has some new crinkly leaves, though it seems a Lords and Ladies plant has also moved itself in so it’s got some competition. The rhubarb is just lodging in this pot while we go through the moving house process, so it’s not in my plan to pick and eat the stalks sadly. But it looks like I may need to undertake an eviction for the unwanted neighbour.

Elsewhere in the garden there’s signs of the seasons moving on, the euphorbias are getting ready to share their lime deliciousness with us soon, and the black grass is also looking at its best. Though it’s never really got going as much as I would have liked it too - maybe it just tolerates where its planted, who knows.

So lush green growth, the promise of Spring to follow but still cold and if the weather forecast for the next few days is correct, getting even colder again for the next few days. Let’s hope March gets the memo soon and brings some warmer, cheerier days.

Pots of garden inspiration

I’ve marked this post as an Ad for transparency as I was invited to attend the Garden Press Event where I spoke to suppliers about their products. I am under no obligation to post about the products I saw, and as usual all views and opinions are my own.

Last week I went along to the annual Garden Press Event held at the Design Centre in Islington - you may have seen my Instagram stories on the day. The event was a show for companies to showcase their products to catch the eye of the press and bloggers alike. It was another great day, and although it’s been a few years since my last visit in 2019, but I found it as useful inspirational as I did back then.

It’s also an opportunity for companies to showcase their new products, and there was a notable increase in sustainable products, which can only be a good thing. I spoke to many people learning about their products, and even managed to get some photos of some of them. Not all, though which is frustrating now - but if you get a chance do pop over and check out the Kindling Cracker over at Fandango Firetools, the galvanised steel water butts over at Arthur Jack & Co, and the beautifully colourful bulbs over at Taylors Bulbs.

So what caught my eye?

These garden wool pads by Hortiwool are fantastic - I’ve already seen something similar, mostly when I’ve had cheese delivered! However these 100% British Wool pads can be used extensively in the garden, and won a sustainability award at the show. I’ve previously used as a liner for hanging baskets, but they have so many more uses including as something to kneel on, protection from frost and something I’m keen to try, deterring slugs.

These small bottles from Azpects promise to have a big impact, with each bottle making up to 3 litres of either a deck, algae, patio or exterior fabric cleaner - and let’s be honest at some point we all need some additional help cleaning parts of our garden. And like some of the kitchen/bathroom cleaning products available now, these are concentrated so you can dilute them at home when you need them, which also saves on the amount of packaging too.

I wasn’t the only one to think these Wool pots were fantastic, they one the ‘best new product’ for the day which is voted for by attendees at the show. It was great to speak with this company which I learnt is based in Hammersmith - the sheep capital of the world, or so I’m told. I have some of these and will be testing them out, and will share how I get on.

A lot of gardening is about confidence, and when you’re faced with a blank canvas that must be quite daunting. The Garden on a roll aims to help people overcome that, and with planting schemes for shady, evergreen, Mediterranean and English Country Garden there looks to be something for everyone and every garden.

Unbelievably these pots have been made from ocean waste using reclaimed fishing nets, trawl ropes and boxes which significantly reduces the amount of manufactured plastic by Woodlodge, they also have a range made from wood waste.

Earthy Sustainable also uses waste products made during harvest for their products. They use straw, coffee husks, wheat chaff and bamboo fibre for a range of products, but the ones that caught my eye were these bee, butterfly and bird boxes. They’re frost proof and can be hung from a branch, or can be screwed to a fence or tree with inbuilt fixings.

There were some great gift-type products from the collaboration between Blue Diamond and the National Trust, including seed and twine sets - or Grow & Tie with a sunflower and sweet pea version - two of my favourite garden flowers. The second photo shows one of the ready to grow plant trays which includes bulbs in a biodegradable tray - you simply take off the lid and place the tray in your pot, cover with compost and water and wait for the bulbs to do their thing. The bulbs have been chosen to perfectly partner the height and flowering times, and I’m assured that there’s more to come from this range both on the pot size and bulb varieties, so keep a look out for these and the developments.

And finally there were a couple of things I have my eye on for our potential future garden. These solar powered drop bulb lights by The Solar Centre, which were a winner of the garden lighting, water features and ornamentation award at the show. We have our sparkly little lights, which look fantastic but give out little light so I expect that to be something I’m after this year.

The other thing is on a future garden wish list is an aluminium garden pergola, and the Maze Living pergolas and outdoor furniture at the show were fantastic. I was just glad MOH wasn’t with me, as with their outdoor kitchens I was pretty certain his wish list would be growing way longer than our budget, and I don’t even know what our budget is!

So all in all, a good day with pots and pots of inspiration. I plan to share some of these in more detail over the coming weeks, so look out for those, but in the meantime what caught your eye?