Looking ahead to the 2026 Gardeners' World Live

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

As ever the Gardeners’ World team have an amazing line up planned for the show, and my plan is as always to see as much of it as I can, I’m fortunate to have been invited to the press preview again this year - and more importantly didn’t book a holiday that clashed with that this year.

There’s plenty of things returning for this year’s show, as well as plenty of new things to experience - my list is long, but here’s what I’m looking forward to:

1 Professor Alice Roberts and Professor David Stevens’ headline Show Garden - The Evolution Garden

Anatomist, biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts and acclaimed international garden designer Professor David Stevens are creating this year’s headline Show Garden, which will trace the evolution of plants and life forms through to the present day. I’m told the highlights will include a tunnel entrance, a central path that travels through time, primitive plants and the beginnings of human life, and that Alice will host live, daily conversations from the garden. It sounds intriguing doesn’t it?

2 The Show Gardens & APL Avenue Gardens

There’s an interesting line up this year with Show Gardens by award-winning design teams including:

• The FSC®UK Forests for Everyone Garden which highlights the plight of tropical forests featuring two contrasting zones – one lush, tropical garden featuring plants under threat, and another showing the stark effects of deforestation.

• An exotic urban garden named The Heart of the Jungle,

• The Artist’s Garden by students from Derby College which blends artistic expression with the practical charm of a traditional country cottage garden.

The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) are celebrating 10 years at this year’s show, and some of their member’s gardens this year include:

• The Umbrellas Garden inspired by the French New Wave film ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ - I’m not much of a film fan, but it will be interesting to see how this interpretation works.

• The Constant Companion interests me as it’s by a team based in Melton Mowbray, not too far from us. The garden aims to celebrate the relationship between human and garden, man and nature, and there’s some interactive elements too.

• The Mill Ruins is by another Lincolnshire team which has been inspired by the sites of old Lancashire Mills, which for many the only remaining evidence is a few brick walls, old doorways and the like. I’ve a feeling that this one will be hugely impactful and emotional.

3 The Showcase Gardens

These are always a favourite of mine for their visual impact and the huge amount of achievable inspiration they provide, this year I’ll be looking out for:

• Trains in the Garden which celebrates 30 years of voluntary railway service and a life-long interest in trains and railways.

• Dark Side of the Bloom, a nostalgic tribute to teenage years.

• The Folklorians Garden which explores ancient stories about plants.

• Greenhouse Noir a contemporary, immersive retreat that highlights how even a modest footprint can become a striking, modern sanctuary.

• And always a lover of pink, this one has me intrigued: The Power of Pink Plants!

4 The Beautiful Borders

This year there’s more than 30 Beautiful Borders for me to get round and see, and I can’t wait. The theme this year is ‘Once Upon a Time’ so I’m hoping for plenty of stories to share…

5 Adam Frost’s Tasting Table

Adam’s back again with cooking demonstrations, summer food inspiration and guests from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and Good Food. James Martin, Si King, Lisa Faulkner, Barney Desmazery and Perry Wakeman (Rennet & Rind, award-winning cheesemongers) join him. This year’s sessions include home produce from the Packington Estate in Warwickshire, the new home of BBC Gardeners’ World from 2027.

6 The Marquee

It’s an absolute assault on your senses, even more so on show day - and it has so much to see. I’m hoping to share more of that with you over the next year, including the gallery of new plants known as ‘Hot Off The Potting Bench’ and the International Orchid Show, which is actually a ‘show within a show’. I love orchids, but I just don’t seem to be able to keep them alive for long, maybe I’ll pick up some tips from the experts.

7 The Smoke & Fire Festival

This is new for this year and the Gardeners’ World team tell me grill fans will love it. It features an outdoor cookery school, stage talks, shopping and a kitchen garden - and it will probably provide heaps of inspiration for the new barbecue MOH tells me we need!

8 The Good Food Show Summer

We always wander around this part of the show, usually when we’re hungry - and we’re not disappointed. This year’s guests include James Martin, Si King, Lisa Faulkner, The Fletchers (Fletchers’ Family Farm), and Dr. Chintal Patel.

It’s going to be a busy day out, again - and I love it!

Celebrating all things pink

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

This garden designed by Samantha Stringer, and to give it its full title - Think, all things pink, is an absolute winner. While it was awarded a Gold medal at the show I think I’d have awarded it higher. It’s a great ode to pink in all its shades and it was designed ‘to inspire the use of a single colour when planting’ and it definitely does that, though I think MOH might raise an eyebrow or two if he knew that was my plan for our own garden, but it shows how effective using a single colour can be.

And who knew that so many shades of pink could live so harmoniously together?

Pink encourages the feeling of strength and boldness according to the blurb board next to the garden, and the different tones add depth and interest, as do the different shaped flower heads.

I’d quite happily be sold, but I do like a bit of big and I absolutely love dense planting like this. I know it’s a show garden and all that, but I’d love my borders to be so fully stocked, when I get to them that is. Though I have a plan, which is to buy the plants now and grow them on so that I can split them as they’re planted so getting (at least) two plants for the price of one, and getting to enjoy them right now.

Or that’s my excuse for my current uptick in plant buying!

I love the attention to detail in this garden, and I love these pastel striped dahlias - but look more closely at the picture and you’ll notice pink edged raffle tickets for the plants which had already been bought by those visiting on the last day of the show.

Ah more dahlias, these spiky petalled sort remind me of the ones dad grew in our childhood garden, back then I probably thought they were terribly old fashioned and dated. But now I love them so clearly the flowers are back on trend, not that I’ve become terribly old fashioned and dated!

I mentioned the attention to detail earlier, and here’s another example - with the designer wearing what other colour, than a beautiful dusky pink.

I guess if you’re going in, you’re best to go all in - and what an absolute triumph of a garden to close out my posts from the 2025 show. I’m going along to the show next month and can’t wait to see and to share the delights and inspiration available this year.

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was quite a show! I hope you’ve enjoyed the posts from my visit to the 2025 show as much as I enjoyed the show - I’m already looking forward to what’s in store from this year’s show next month.

Enjoying the Golden Hour

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

I’m not sure if it’s just because I’ve recently finished my pink and orange embroidered pouch, but I seem to be talking a lot on here about my favourite colour scheme of pink, orange and yellow. And that’s continuing with this beautiful border from the 2025 show.

I didn’t realise it at the time - the pink and orange genes clearly run deep - but I suspect that’s what drew me to this space designed by Ellen Tozer, that and the magnificent planting.

But first that arch, it would truly feel like you were entering a different space walking through that wouldn’t it? And that could be just what the designer intended as the accompanying blurb says this “is a space for reconnecting with your true self and escaping from the hustle of daily life.”

No doubt you’ve gathered from its name that its inspired by the golden sunrise and sunset hours, but there’s also three key features in this garden which encourage daydreaming and letting go.

They’re the warm earthy tones of the flowers and foliage in hues of amber and orange, which is proven in promoting relaxation. The wild and free planting encourages you to reject formality and adopt a more relaxed approach, and that circular arch is to signify the sun and renewal - so not the stepping through it to a new, more chilled you as I thought - though I still think it’d be pretty chill to have something like this in a garden.

But it was really the planting that I was drawn to.

It’s just glorious and full of flowers that I already love, and some of which I have or have been acquiring for my garden. I have foxgloves, though I’m not sure I’ve seen any evidence of them this year; I have an astrantia too, though mine is the paler white/pink version but seeing these deep burgundy flowers I think I need some of these too. They are really beautiful flowers aren’t they?

I also have an iris that is similarly coloured to the one photographed above, though I missed it flowering last year as that coincided with our holiday, so l I hope there’ll be a repeat this year. I haven’t checked on this either - my focus in my garden at the moment is weeds, and getting rid of them - but it’s still snug in its overwintering sheltered half-in/half-out of the bush position, and is getting ready to put on flowers just as beautiful as these again this year.

Fingers crossed.

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was quite a show! I’ll be sharing more from my visit to this year’s show throughout the year - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did the show.