A reminder to 'Stop and Smell the Flowers'

* I was invited to the press preview of 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.

Sometimes we all need that reminder don’t we? Whether it’s an actual reminder, or one like that’s prompted by the recent upturn in weather. Stopping and enjoying, let alone smelling the flowers is good for us. Though don’t stop too long at the moment in my garden, or else you’ll see more weeds than I’d like, but of course they have flowers too and are often at this time of year one of the few flowers out so they’re good for our pollinators. Phew, I can leave the weeding for just a little longer then!

But there’s a serious message in this garden which was designed by Julie Haylock. Our world is driven by faceless, fast-paced interaction with technology (and the irony that you’re reading this on my blog isn’t lost on me) but by finding a peaceful sanctuary sitting amongst nature is important for our wellbeing.

In this garden a winding gravel path encourages you to slow down and take in the soft colour palette and fragrance of the flowers, engaging your senses. As you step through the moon gate you’re encouraged to leave behind your busy life to sit for a while and reflect, screened from the world, to focus on the important things: healthy, family and friendship.

What I liked about this garden was the repeating circles, remember in my previous garden we added circles to our lawn, so I think it loosely reminded me of that, and while I like circles in gardens our garden here is the wrong shape for that. Previously our garden was long and thin, so adding circles to the lawn made it appear wider; here our garden is wider than it is long, so circles, or even a large oval would make it appear even more squat and bring the back wall in. Which is a shame, as I know how to do circles!!

The pond was small and so you can see how introducing a pond as part of the Make a Metre Matter campaign would be completely doable, and I like how it’s above ground level in a corten steel bowl. I also like how its softened with the frothy erigirons, a plant that didn’t transport too well from my London garden so is definitely on my purchase list.

It took me a little while to notice though that the ‘Reflect’ banner was hung the wrong way round for most visitors viewing the garden - maybe intentional, maybe not - but either way it doesn’t detract from the space does it.

This planting is brought to life by the wooden sets providing a path around the water feature - but also the peonies, lavender and many other plants in the pink, blue and purple palette really are calming. I didn’t think a water feature was for me, but maybe I’m having second thoughts - argh! so much choice, that’s really quite the thing when you have a blank landscape. I’m not sure how these designers do it, and for the showcase gardens, how they bring it together in such a short space of time.

But I’m also very glad that they do!

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was just as good as I expected! I’ll be sharing more from my visit to the show - I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Make a Metre Matter with Gardeners' World

* I was invited to the Garden Press Event, a one day show which connects garden product suppliers with garden media, I’ve also worked with the team at Gardeners’ World Live so I’m marking my blog posts from the event as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

Gardeners’ World is a bit of a national treasure isn’t it, or I think so at least. You’ll know that I love my visits to the the Live show at the NEC and I also love to catch up with Monty and the team when they’re back on our TV screens too. This year they have a campaign to Make a Metre Matter encouraging everyone to transform a metre of outdoor space for the good of the planet.

Whether you have an urban courtyard, small balcony, country plot or a community space, each of us making the most of one dedicated metre will have a real impact, and when you think about it a metre isn’t very much, but it can make an awful lot of difference.

As you’d expect every part of the Gardeners’ World brand will focus on their annual campaign - the magazine, the TV show, the digital platforms and live events, with Nick Bailey creating this year’s headline Show Garden at Gardeners’ World Live - but more on that later.

How you can Make a Metre Matter

There are loads of ways you can make a meaningful difference, whether that’s growing plants for caterpillars and pollinators, growing salad or vegetables to cut down a little on food miles and get a tastier crop at the same time, or creating a compost heap to boost your soil and help biodiversity.

The team at Gardeners’ World have plenty of ideas to inspire us which you’ll see more of in the coming months including how to:

• grow yourself a pollinator patch to support bees, butterflies, caterpillars and more,

• grow and harvest a summer of tasty veg using your square metre of space,

• boost biodiversity and welcome wildlife by making a small pond to make a big difference,

• save money on salad growing your own from seed,

• create an insect haven with log piles, habitat stacks and more,

• to get composting and boost your soil’s health with homemade compost.

Which all sounds quite tiring, but you don’t need to do it all! But there is a chance to win prizes when you register (before 30 September 2025) your participation at https://www.gardenersworld.com/win/make-a-metre-matter/

I’ve been considering what I could do in my garden, and while I do need a compost bin, that’s not what I’m going for as until I know more about what we’re doing with our garden I’m not sure where to put it. I do want to up my game on salad this year as we eat so much of it, and I’m always buying it. I like to have a variety of leaves and can quite often get bored with a single variety of lettuce, but then when I buy more than one it seems a rush to eat it - I can’t win! But if I were to grow more of my own then I could quite literally have my pick whenever I wanted, so I think that’s the right thing for me - though as before where to do this is an issue, so I think my metre will be across a number of pots, which may not be in keeping with the ethos of the campaign, but it’s what I can do and it’s way better than nothing.

Nick Bailey’s Gardeners’s World Live headline show garden, The Plant Based Garden

I mentioned earlier in this post that Nick Bailey is creating this year’s headline show garden and it’s going to be packed with ideas for transforming a metre of space, with ways to support wildlife, recycle and inspiration for choosing materials carefully as well as growing planet friendly plants.

Nick’s been involved with the campaign from the off and his garden with bring the Make a Metre Matter campaign to life. He’ll be including lots of interesting elements to the garden and wants to prove it possible to create a whole garden with only renewable resources. After the show in Birmingham the garden will move about 30 miles up the road to two different charities which are both focused on horticultural education. They are the University of Leicester Botanic Garden which is currently undergoing renovation so the show garden will add to their planting and resources, and the YMCA Leicestershire who have a big project engaging young people in horticultural careers.

And of course there’ll be lots of one square metre inspiration within the show garden, Nick said that the garden looks like a big Tetris game, but of course that it also has a cohesive design - and personally I can’t wait to see it first hand.

But until then I’ve my salad seeds to sort through and get planting - all the time remembering not to plant too many at once!

Losing an hour (or two) to pottering

* I was invited to the Garden Press Event, a one day show which connects garden product suppliers with garden media, therefore I’m marking my blog posts from the event as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

One of the most enjoyable parts of gardening for me is a good potter. The ability to lose an hour (or two) to doing just that and to be productive (mainly) at the same time is a great feeling. Don’t get me wrong, seeing the results of your hard work, eating anything you’ve grown and enjoying the flowers is good, but a good potter is priceless - and good for your soul.

So whether you want to potter in the greenhouse, sowing seeds, weeding, tending or watering your plants, filling the bird feeders or however you potter, it’s time well spent, and it can be even better - and easier - with the right tools, and all the better for ones which look good too.

There were a number of brands at the show - all household names - that were displaying some gorgeous items, and I’ll share a selection of those by Burgon & Ball, Crocus and Dobbies in this post which you can expect to see in garden centres and online this season.

BURGON & BALL

I loved the bold stripes of the planters from Burgon & Ball, and I’ve got my eye on some of these more decorative items for my ‘front of house’ greenhouse when I get around to it. But also the hand tools look great and the wooden handles are always a favourite, as they feel so good in your hands (obviously without the functional gardening gloves!).

BURGON & BALL

The Crocus stand had a lot of items that caught my eye - and it’s also likely to be a dangerous place for my purse at some point. I loved the fat ball feeders and the tea light holders, which will bring immediate height and impact to any part of your garden. I’d be tempted to use these in pots around the patio so that we get to see them as much as possible.

CROCUS

CROCUS

But there was so much else - mini Victorian Greenhouses, wire cloches and the tiniest terracotta plant pots, along with the pretty yet entirely functional sieve and dibbers. It’s just as well these things weren’t for sale on the day, as otherwise I’d have been turning up to meet MOH for dinner fully laden!

CROCUS

I was also pleased to see the mushroom kits, which MOH has toyed with previously. So far we’ve resisted, but I think there is some mushroom growing in our future at some point. Though I can’t help but remember that Clarkson’s Farm episode where he is inundated with mushrooms, as of course he never does anything by halves does he?

CROCUS

And finally to the Dobbies stand which had cleverly included bird song as part of their stand - and indoors in February, before any hint of spring showing itself, that was very welcome.

DOBBIES

It’s a big year for Dobbies as they are celebrating their 160th year of helping British gardens to grow - they have released a heritage range to celebrate this which takes its inspiration from the roots of their business as a seed merchant. The print was chosen by customers from a selection of designs from an original Dobbie & Co seed catalogue dating from 1906.

They have also partnered with Alzheimer’s Research UK and are working together to protect memories for the future by promoting brain health and funding research that will lead to a cure for dementia.

Gardening is a great way to show our brains some love, and this can help reduce the risk of dementia and together Dobbies and Alzheimer’s Research UK will inspire people to keep their brain healthy through gardening and garden living.

DOBBIES

While there is no sure fire way to stop anyone from getting dementia, there are things we can do that may make it less likely that we will:

• Ask your doctor to check your heart health, including blood pressure and cholesterol and follow their advice if they are too high.

• If you have diabetes, keep to your doctor’s advice.

• Don’t smoke.

• Keep your weight healthy.

• Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

• Keep using your brain - through activities or social groups you enjoy.

• Stay active and try not to spend too long sitting down.

• Drink less than 14 units of alcohol per week.

Source: Alzheimer’s Research UK

DOBBIES

You’ll see the heritage print on their limited edition collection including tote bags, cushions, candles, throws and more - and given that the design is over a hundred years old, I think it still looks quite modern - and it’s a good sized tote bag, which I used on the day and have used since too.

As I said, you really can’t beat spending an hour (or two) pottering, trust me.