Balmy weather attracts thousands to BBC Gardeners’ World spring fair at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum
BALMY weather attracted a record number of visitors to the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair at Beaulieu.
The popular three-day event, which returned to the home of the National Motor Museum last month, attracted a record-breaking 23,000 visitors, who browsed an array of show gardens, cookery experiences and retail stalls.
During the event BBC TV gardening presenter Frances Tophill presented awards to design teams and horticulture students behind some show-stopping gardens and displays.
As well showcasing garden designers from across the UK, local organisations and charities also got involved with Furzey Gardens and Minstead Trust winning the best beautiful border and a platinum award for their entry “Not all those who wander are lost” inspired by a poem from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.
The garden was created by people with learning disabilities and featured plants grown at Furzey Gardens, a stepping stone path, and a grand chair carved from the trunk of an old Elm tree.
The Beautiful Borders competition is designed to provide achievable inspiration for smaller gardens and tricky spaces. Entrants take on the challenge of packing compact 9m2 plots with imaginative planting and creative design features. This year’s theme is ‘My Garden Escape’.
Minstead Trust estates manager Andrew Bentley said: “We are delighted for all the people that we support that have worked so hard to create this garden. It has created a real sense of purpose and shows what people with learning disabilities can achieve when they have support and encouragement.”
Elsewhere there was the inspiration for every kind of garden with a stylish and tranquil Nordic Retreat, a Theatre of Greens by award-winning designer Paul Stone as well as entries created by local designers, charities and groups as well as floral displays by specialist nurseries and growers.
Plot to plate and thrifty gardening were key themes for this year’s spring fair and there were more experts, workshops, and opportunities to learn on-site than previous shows.
Over the show weekend BBC TV presenters Frances Tophill, Arit Anderson and Adam Frost along with the editors of BBC Gardeners’ World magazine were joined by well-known gardening personalities, plant experts and influencers who shared practical tips and advice for successful home-growing.
Meanwhile, chefs and kitchen gardeners from The Pig and Lime Wood Hotel hosted live food and drink demonstrations in the restored Victorian Kitchen of Beaulieu’s Palace House and alfresco in the Theatre of Greens.
