BBC Gardeners’ World Live returns to the NEC Birmingham this year (12 – 15 June) with its spectacular Floral Marquee, inspiring Show Gardens, popular presenters and plant experts, and with a new campaign to ‘Make a Metre Matter’. Supported by BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World TV series, the Magazine, events and digital platforms, Make a Metre Matter encourages people to transform one metre of outdoor space to help the planet. Supporting wildlife, saving water and growing food to reduce food miles are just some of the ways in which these small but mighty metres can make a difference.
Bringing the Make a Metre Matter campaign to life is BBC Gardeners’ World presenter, Nick Bailey, the designer of this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live headline Show Garden, The Plant-Based Garden. The plantsman and author is passionate about sustainable gardening, and his plastic- and concrete-free garden will be packed with eco-friendly highlights, resources and materials.
The Plant-Based Garden has a homestead feel with a cluster of characterful, feature buildings, 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.
Nick Bailey says: “I’ve designed a garden with sustainability at its heart and with heaps of Make a Metre Matter ideas to take home. I want to prove that it’s possible to create a whole garden with only renewable resources and I hope people will embrace its ethos. It doesn’t matter what you do with a metre, the important thing is the collective difference that lots of planet-friendly projects can make. It’s something that everybody can get on board with.”
Nick Bailey will be chatting about Make a Metre Matter from his Plant-Based Garden each day of the show, at the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre and on BBC Gardeners’ World on BBC 2 on 13 June. At the Let’s Talk Plants Stage in the Floral Marquee, experts from Hillier, plant supplier for The Plant-Based Garden, will be sharing tips on how to recreate the garden’s look and ethos at home.
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine has some great Make a Metre Matter ideas to try at home. More than 3,700 metres have already been registered at GardenersWorld.com for a chance to win £500 or £1,000 of Crocus vouchers. Gardeners and growers can also share a video of their metres with the BBC Gardeners’ World TV team for a possible TV appearance on 13th June. Award-winning designer Pip Probert (BBC 2 Your Garden Made Perfect) has created a Make a Metre Matter collection for BBC Gardeners’ World Live that includes a mini pollinator patch, pond and compost heap.
Adam Frost introduces an exciting new highlight at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live with 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. Grab a spot at one of the drop-in viewing positions around the perimeter.
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).
Visitors can look forward to all of BBC Gardeners’ World Live’s much-loved features. This year’s large-scale, inspirational Show Gardens include the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Medicinal Garden, designed by Rupert Keys from TASK Academy. Designed as a space for healing, The Medicinal Garden tells stories of survival through the language of nature. 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.
For the second year in a row at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, award-winning designer Kitti Kovacs is partnering with My Garden Escape at QVC. This year’s Show Garden is The Reflective Retreat, a tranquil design that combines a contemplative aesthetic with practical solutions for gardening in a changing climate. Central to the design is a waterfall cascading into a pool, surrounded by flood-friendly planting. The soothing sound of water creates a calming, meditative atmosphere, inviting visitors to pause and reflect. A striking glass water feature adds a modern, sculptural touch, reflecting both the natural and designed elements of the garden, and shifting its appearance as the light changes throughout the day.
The garden encourages visitors to consider how simple changes in their own outdoor spaces can help conserve water and reduce their environmental impact.
Further Show Gardens include the Vihara Meditation Garden by Sarah Coe at Derby College. Designed on Buddhist principles, the Meditation Garden provides a tranquil space for mindfulness, meditation, and connection with nature and has been created for the Birmingham Buddhist Vihara Temple. Garden Organic’s Rooted in Nature garden has nature and nourishment at its heart, showing how diversely planted kitchen gardens can provide fresh food for the family while buffering the biodiversity crisis. Based around the Charity’s research paper, Every Garden Matters, the garden demonstrates easy ways to maximise wildlife and manage water while growing your own food.
The Garden of Reflection by Marc Buirski (2 Forks and a Spade) is an educational garden, designed to actively involve students in the creation and upkeep of the space, fostering a sense of ownership, responsibility and connection to the environment, which in turn promotes a sense of pride and accomplishment. The process of nurturing plants offers a calming, therapeutic experience, helping reduce stress and anxiety and creating a supportive, peaceful environment for personal growth. The Greenfingers Charity Anniversary Garden designed by Pip Probert is a sensory garden for children of all abilities which celebrates the children’s hospice garden charity’s 25th anniversary. The New Build Garden by Lucie and Henry Ponsford (Mimosa Design) is a modern vision of a new build garden which repurposes waste materials and creates a sustainable yet luxurious sanctuary.
The mid-sized Showcase Gardens include Sunflower Power by Beth’s Sunflowers, in partnership with Jack Moody Landscaping and Hannah Thomas Garden Design, Just a Garden … by Carleen Osborne, The Nectary by Kate Patrick, Think, All things Pink by Samantha Stringer, The Earth Heals by Sue Arthur, The Wildlife Garden by Tom Cave Saunders and Uniting Land and Sea by Samantha Theakstone. The Beautiful Borders offer small garden inspiration with the creative theme of ‘Cultivating Connections’. This year’s entries include a wide array of interpretations, including a design by Lego which combines live planting with creations from its Botanicals floral range.
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.
You’re never far from a BBC Gardeners’ World presenter at the Birmingham NEC! This year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre lineup includes Monty Don, Adam Frost, Nick Bailey, Frances Tophill and Rachel De Thame – all live in conversation with Nicki Chapman, sharing summer garden tips with the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine editors, and signing copies of their latest books. Theatre sponsor, British Garden Centres, will be hosting daily sessions too.
At the heart of BBC Gardeners’ World Live is the fantastic Floral Marquee, sponsored by Legal & General. This plant-filled paradise is a sensory sensation. Head for the Let’s Talk Plants stage hosted by David Hurrion for expert plant advice from guests including Monty Don, Adam Frost, Sue Kent and Charles Carr, Head of Wholesale Nurseries for stage sponsor, Hillier. Visit 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. Returning to the Floral Marquee is the International Orchid Show, hosted by the British Orchid Council. This ‘show within a show’ features stunning displays and expert advice from specialist orchid societies and nurseries.
The Young People in Horticulture Association will be unveiling a brand new Begonia in the finale of the Launch Success Challenge, designed to develop the next generation of horticultural talent. Supported by BBC Gardeners’ World Live, Beekenkamp Plants and British Garden Centres, the Challenge programme offers business and marketing training and skills to teams of young horticultural professionals to bring an unreleased plant to market. The new Begonia will be launched at the NEC and will be available to buy from the British Garden Centres on-site shop.
Got a pressing plant problem? Pay a visit to the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Plant Experts, Lucy Chamberlain and Saul Walker, at their one-to-one advice desk. The pair will also be hosting garden tours and walks. The Horticultural Trade Association will be on hand to share information about Plant Healthy which encourages the growing, buying and selling of healthy plants to help protect plants, landscape and wildlife. Pot Swap by Wool-Pots will be exchanging plastic pots from plants bought at the show for a sustainable alternative, and Legal & General customers can enjoy an exclusive Lounge, surrounded by the Floral Marquee’s wonderful plants.
There’s superb shopping to be had at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, both indoors and out. Bring a shopping list and head for the Floral Marquee and Plant Village for a vast range of plants to browse and buy, with hundreds of high-quality retailers selling garden accessories, décor, tools, equipment and furniture. Indoor gardeners will love the new Green Rooms. This house plant heaven hosted by Sarah Gerrard-Jones (@theplantrescuer) and Ian Morrison (Liquid Gold Leaf) features plant-packed stalls, pots and accessories, expert plant care advice, talks and workshops. For hands-free shopping, drop your plants at the Plant Crèche and collect them when you leave, and use the car collection service for heavier items.
The Health for Life Wheelbarrow Competition returns for 2025, nurturing 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. Children can also enjoy getting hands-on at the show at daily drop-in sessions with Magic Cat Publishing to celebrate Frances Tophill’s new children’s book, How to Grow a Garden, Find a Plant for Every Place. Frances will be signing copies of her book on the Saturday. Children aged five and under go free every day and under 16s go free at the weekend (tickets required). Visiting BBC Gardeners’ World Live for the first-time is the global TV phenomenon, Bluey, who will be making some special weekend appearances at the bandstand. Families are invited to join Bluey on Saturday and Sunday for a free meet, greet and photo (pre booking is required).
Tickets for BBC Gardeners’ World Live include entry to Good Food Show Summer, featuring demonstrations and theatres, stages and talks, tastings and workshops. There’s plenty of street food options, delicious food and drink to taste and buy, and toe-tapping live entertainment to enjoy. Celebrity chefs include Rachel Allen, Jane Dunn, Lisa Faulkner, Nadiya Hussain, Si King, James Martin, Tony Singh, Cyrus Todiwala and John Torode. Visitors can dine in style at the Good Food Restaurant, inspired by the country’s leading food website, goodfood.com. Gardening and cooking experts from both events will be signing copies of their latest books.
Lucy Tremlett, Event Director at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World events, said: “Tens of thousands of visitors come to BBC Gardeners’ World Live every year for garden inspiration, take-home ideas and superb garden shopping. We’re really excited about Make a Metre Matter this year which we’re sure is going to capture people’s imaginations. Designing your own eco-friendly metres at home is a great way to get creative and help the planet at the same time. Whether you’re admiring Nick Bailey’s Plant-Based Garden, discovering an exciting new plant, or getting some great advice from your favourite BBC Gardeners’ World presenter, there really is no better place to spend a summer’s day. Add live entertainment, great food and drink, and Good Food Show Summer in the price of your ticket, and you’ve got a cracking day out.”
Tickets for BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC Birmingham (12-15 June), including entry to Good Food Show Summer, are on sale now at www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com
Source Julie Parmenter, Brampton PR
