This May...

Oh dear, I ended last month’s post wondering if this would be the month we started to sort out the garage. In short, it wasn’t! I clearly had good intentions, but then completely forgot about it, so that’s another job that is still on the list for this month.

In other ways though it’s been a busy month. I was back down in London at the start of the month for the press preview of the new Unearthed exhibition at the British Library, and really enjoyed my mooch around the exhibition and the British Library, which I hadn’t visited before despite living in London for most of my life…

MOH joined me later in the day and we had a wander around the British Museum which was very busy, and then headed over to our hotel in Docklands ready for a day at Grand Designs Live the next day. Although we hadn’t really thought this through and booked a restaurant - the German Gymnasium in Kings Cross for dinner. Thankfully though the Elizabeth line made it super easy to get across town, and back again.

Inside the German Gymnasium at Kings Cross

INSIDE THE GERMAN GYMNASIUM AT KINGS CROSS

The decor and history of the restaurant was amazing, and it was a popular place. The food was good, but it’s not somewhere I’d rush back to. The reviews online were mixed and I can see why, but it’s somewhere that I’ve wanted to go for a while, so it was good to experience it for myself. The toilets were pretty unusual too, so at some point I’m sure I’ll share some of their decor.

The building was an actual old gymnasium, and a German one at that. It was built by the German Gymnastics Society in 1865 and was home to London’s first indoor Olympic Games in 1866—and then again in 1908, there’s still some hooks used for the equipment in the Grade II listed building’s roof trusses.

We’ve been further afield too, heading to Devon for a few days to visit family and for a day out at the Devon County Show - our first ever any kind of county show. We had a good day there, again in brilliant sunshine, and it is always good to catch up with family. We stopped off at Croome National Trust on the way down and then on the way back again, so I expect I’ll share more of our visit there, as it’s a beautiful place.

Sport and sorts

There’s been cycling extravaganzas for MOH too; he ventured to Stevenage by train with his bike to meet up with friends for a day’s cycling, and then completed one of his mad 100 mile cycling challenges a few days later. The latter in brilliant sunshine and high temperatures, rather him than me.

For me yoga and zumba in the next village have been few and far between, what with bank holidays coinciding with yoga and in the case of zumba, the hall being used for the local elections as well as a clash with a night out in Newark wine tasting and our few days in Devon. But there has been plenty of home yoga and some home zumba sessions. Home yoga was more successful as I easily dipped back into Yoga with Adriene; for zumba I searched and tried several workouts on YouTube to find one where I didn’t stumble over my feet quite so much - the jury’s still out!

But the big sports news for this long-term Crystal Palace supporter is the FA Cup win. It was a nerve wracking match to watch, but they held onto their 1-0 lead and triumphed over Manchester City. For the occasion I’d opted for some of Brewdog’s Wingman to calm my nerves, mostly because the can was yellow with a blue eagle on!

So clearly I’m claiming some of the success for Palace’s first major trophy win. The beer I drank and for the lucky rub I gave my age-old supporter badge, which I have no idea how or when it arrived with me, clearly made all the difference!

My vintage Crystal Palace FC OK badge

Specs and spectators

My regular eye test and contact lens check was due this month, and while all is good the optician confirmed what I knew already, that my current glasses are now further away from my actual prescription and could do with an update. So I’ve chosen, and recently collected new glasses, which I’ll mostly wear about the house and which will come with me on trips in case of emergencies. And I’ll know that if they’re needed then they’re up-to-date enough to cope with the job!

We’ve been to the theatre in Nottingham again, this time to see Henning Wehn, the german comedian and in the smaller Theatre Royal. It was a good evening with plenty of chuckles along the way, which is always good. I still can’t quite get my head around being home usually within 30 minutes or so of stepping out of the theatre.

At the moment we’ve only got one further theatre trip booked, and that’s not until October when we see Divine Comedy - maybe I should do something about that and see what else is on.

My favourite month

May, I think is my favourite month, though I’m probably biased as it’s my birth month. Though it seems that all of a sudden everything has taken off, we’re much busier than we have been, the weather has generally been good, the garden is growing (and growing) and we’ve been out here, there and everywhere.

I’ve picked up my new car (it’s a newer version of the car I already had and it’s fabulous), the large pot we bought at Grand Designs has been delivered - so now I need to find the right sized and right priced olive tree to put in it - and we’ve got our travel bug back. So much so that I’ve been looking through our holiday photos from last year, and even plan to share some of those walks - you can’t rush things, clearly!

But it also seems crazy that with June around the corner we’re close to half way through the year, how did that happen?!

If you want to read my previous monthly updates in my ‘This is’ series you’re very welcome.

Looking ahead to this year's Gardeners' World Live Show

* I have been invited this year’s Gardeners’ World Live and provided with a pair of tickets to visit the show, therefore all my posts will be marked as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

This year I’m unable to make it to the press preview before the show opens, but thankfully I’m still able to get to the show. For the first time I’ll be going along on the Sunday, so it’ll be interesting to see how the show is different on its final day.

As ever the Gardeners’ World team have an amazing line up planned for theshow, and my plan is still to see as much of it as I can - but this year, more than ever, I need a plan so we can cram as much as we can into a single day.

1 Nick Bailey’s Show Garden - The Plant-Based Garden

I’m keen to see how Nick has incorporated the ‘Make a Metre Matter’ campaign into his garden. The pre-show information says that it will be packed with Make a Metre Matter metres, so I’m sure it will provide plenty of inspiration for me, and everyone else who visits the garden.

Picture credit © BBC Gardeners’ World Live - A Sketch of Nick Bailey's Headline Show Garden, The Plant-Based Garden

Picture credit © BBC Gardeners’ World Live - A Sketch of Nick Bailey's Headline Show Garden, The Plant-Based Garden

2 Pip Probert’s ‘Make a Metre Matter’ collection

Yes, this campaign has really captured my imagination - we all have a metre that we can ‘donate’ and make good use of. At the show Pip aims to bring some of the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s creative ideas to life, and she’s also designed some special metres to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Greenfingers, the charity which creates children’s hospice gardens.

3 The Green Rooms

With more houseplants than I’ve ever had before I’m keen to find out more about how I should be caring for my ever growing indoor plant collection, getting as much advice as I can from Sarah Gerrard-Jones (@theplantrescurer) and Ian Morrison. And maybe of course I’ll be able to add to those…

4 All of the Show Gardens and all of the Beautiful Borders

Yes, there are lots of these and it’s my plan as ever to get to see, and photograph, them all. I already know there’s going to be some corkers, and I’m especially going to be looking out for the Midlands Air Ambulance Reflection Garden, the New Build Garden by Mimosa Design Ltd and Garden Organic’s wildlife garden.

Plus this year the APL Show Gardens will have a theme of water, which is something that’s not really big on my garden wish list, so we’ll see if these professionally designed gardens can change my mind.

The theme for the Beautiful Borders this year is ‘Cultivating Connections’ and includes a design from Lego, the 160th Unbirthday of Alice in Wonderland, the Golden Hour and the Milky Way - so I’m even more intrigued than I was to see how they’ve interpreted the theme.

5 Hot Off The Potting Bench in the Floral Marquee

I know that the marquee is going to be an assault on all of my senses, but last year I really enjoyed seeing the new plants and varieties on show, and which we may see in our garden centres in the years to come.

One of the school's wheelbarrow entries from the 2023 show - complete with papermache insect head

And finally,

And I don’t think I’ll ever stop enjoying the Health for Life Wheelbarrow Competition, with entries from local school children. The theme is once again a ‘food and climate’ theme so it’ll be interesting to see their interpretation, which at times is far from what you’d think from these creative young minds.

This year may be the year we spend time in the Plant Village as it could also be the first year that we drive to the NEC, rather than go on the train. It could be very dangerous, but also as it’s the last day of the show there could be some bargains to be had. We’ll see.

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, I’m looking forward to seeing this year’s show.

Gardeners' World Live 2025: Win a pair of tickets for Sunday 15 June, plus discount code

The competition has now closed.

The discount code remains available to use until it expires at 23:59 on 4 June 2025 - see the section further down this post for more details and how to use.

Once again I’m happy to pair up with the team at BBC Gardeners’ World Live for this competition where you can enter to win a pair of standard adult tickets to BBC Gardeners’ World Live at Birmingham NEC. The tickets offered as the prize for this competition are valid for Sunday 15 June, 9am entry with a RRP of £58.00. For details of how to enter please see the ‘How to enter’ section further on in this post. I also have a discount code which you can use when purchasing tickets, the code is shown in the ‘Use my discount code’ section also further on in this post.

What to see at this year’s show

In all honesty if it’s garden-related then it’ll probably be at Gardener’s World Live! As well as the Floral Marquee, inspiring Show Gardens, popular presenters and plant experts there’ll be a whole host of ideas and inspiration which you can replicate in your own gardens, or maybe just admire on the day!

But I recommend looking out for:

  • Nick Bailey’s headline Show Garden, The Plant-Based Garden which brings the Make a Metre Matter campaign to life. The garden has a homestead feel with a cluster of feature builds, meadow-like planting, an elegant dining space and a series of beds for cut flowers, veg, herbs and composting. A multi-occupancy birdhouse is designed to suit different bird species. Three ornamental Make a Metre Matter ponds will demonstrate how to attract a range of wildlife to a tiny space. Block planting metres will provide colour inspiration and attract pollinators, with raised bed metres proving that productive veg growing is possible in even the tightest spots.

  • New for this year is Adam Frost’s Tasting Table - an interactive and exclusive new gardening and gastronomy experience. The BBC Gardeners’ World presenter and keen veg grower welcomes culinary experts and guest chefs from sister event, Good Food Show Summer for live cooking demonstrations, kitchen gardening tips and inspiring conversations. Guests include Rachel Allen, Chris Bavin, Si King, James Martin, John Torode and Lisa Faulkner, plus Barney Desmazery and Cassie King from Good Food Magazine.

  • Also new is the ‘In Conversation With’ Stage where award-winning gardener, writer and presenter Ade Sellars (The Good Life Gardener) hosts a daily programme of relaxed garden and lifestyle chat with acclaimed horticulturalists and gardening personalities. Guests include BBC Gardeners’ World’s Sue Kent, Pip Probert and Jason Williams (Cloud Gardener UK).

  • This year’s Show Gardens include the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Medicinal Garden designed by Rupert Keys as a space for healing. More than just a collection of plants, it is a living tribute to early medicine and second chances. Every bloom symbolises a life saved, every pathway a journey of recovery, and every tree a reminder of the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s role in giving people another opportunity to thrive. The garden will be relocated from BBC Gardeners’ World Live to the new Midlands Air Ambulance site at Shifnal in Shropshire.

  • In the Association of Professional Landscapers’ popular APL Avenue, three member companies will be showcasing their technical skills, attention to detail and creative use of materials with exciting back garden designs inspired by water. This year’s entries are The Watershed Garden by The Botanical Gardener, A Garden For All Weathers by August Ponds, and Wallace Line by Dave Hodson. The APL celebrates its 30th anniversary with a feature garden by designer Rachel Bailey, called Where There’s Water, There’s Life.

  • Plus in the Floral Marquee make sure you don’t miss the Hot Off The Potting Bench walk-through gallery for brand new plants and varieties, all entered for the coveted Peter Seabrook Award for Best New Plant, or the International Orchid Show, hosted by the British Orchid Council, which is returning to GWL this year.

  • The Health for Life Wheelbarrow Competition returns with the next generation of gardeners, designers and growers. Children from local schools and nurseries will be creating wheelbarrow planters with a ‘food and climate change’ theme - these are always brilliant to see.

  • And of course make sure you leave enough time to have a wander around Good Food Show Summer, featuring demonstrations and theatres, stages and talks, tastings and workshops, which is included with your Gardeners’ World Live entry.

It’s a really great day out, but one that can be full on at times - come prepared to be inspired!

How to enter

To enter to win a pair of standard adult tickets valid for Sunday 15 June 9am entry, you need to leave a comment on this blog post telling me why you want to attend Gardeners’ World Live, then click on the widget below and complete your entry - you can get more entries by interacting on social media.

A winner will be chosen and contacted by email on Tuesday 20 May.

Use my discount code

Use the discount code* SAVE15 for 15% off standard adult/concession entry tickets (excluding Saturday) - this code expires at 23:59 on 4 June 2025.

*Discounts valid on adult/concession standard entry tickets on standard entry tickets. Not valid on VIP, 2-day tickets, added extras or with any other offer. £3.95 transaction fee per e-ticket order. Details correct at time of publication.