BBC Gardeners' World Live Report 2000

BBC Gardeners’ World Live has grown into a vast garden market, where enthusiasm and energy are palpable. Three quarters of a million pounds have been invested in the new layout, to make it easier to find garden aids, from the Wash-Matik - a greenhouse hose in a bucket - to a robotic lawnmower, and plants and flowers of every hue.

Show Gardens

Among several Silver Gilt Medal winners, the Stonemarket Patio Garden won Best Show Garden, while Jardinerie’s garden ‘It’s a jungle out there’ gained a Silver Gilt for a bold display of tropical plants, including the red-leaved banana.

Also awarded a Silver Gilt, The Very Interesting Landscape Design Company was arranging to sell its water garden exhibit after the show. The Wildlife Trust’s garden won a Silver Flora for an exhibit, which showed ways of attracting insects and birds into the garden. Some of the outstanding features were wild flowers, a pond, tree stumps and logs.

Small gardens

No gold medals were awarded to Small Gardens/Sunflower Street, but ‘Time Lords’, an exhibit with a gothic theme, won a Silver Gilt Flora and showed some interesting herbs for alternative healing, wood panel islands, water with coloured glass chippings and floating glass baubles. An exhibit called ‘Come Rain or Shine also achieved Silver Gilt standard. Bold features here were: a mulch path between hardy geraniums, Alchemilla mollis, white-flowering hostas, foxgloves, wood decking, and water running down a metal pipe into a star-shaped metal container.

Mark Ward, a student at Warwickshire College, produced ‘A Sense of the Future’ - a garden designed to incorporate ideas to help the disabled, such as swinging containers for sweetpeas, to waft the scent around.

Fast sales

Glebe Cottage Plants was selling plants as fast as hands could pass them. "You shouldn’t be such a popular lady!" joked a customer, as yet another Astrantia was handed over. Knautia macedonica, with dark crimson flowers, quickly followed - sold to another delighted customer.

‘Silver Edge’ hedge

In a prominent position on the Norfolk Lavender stand, a neat display of Lavandula augustifolia varieties ‘Miss Katherine’ (pale pink flowers) and ‘Little Lottie’ (white) was balanced by the grey-leaved, strongly scented species cross ‘Sawyers’ and the newer ‘Kew Red’ variety. One visitor said: "I am going to buy lots of variegated L.x intermedia ‘Walberton’s Silver Edge’ and make a hedge."

Scented sweet peas

New sweet pea ‘Eileen Brinton’ (salmon pink) was on show at Eagle Nursery’s stand, while Diane Sewell’s exhibit was promoting cerise-coloured sweet pea ‘Heartbeat’ - sales of this one help the British Heart Foundation. Unwins Seeds’ sweet pea ‘Royal Wedding’, a highly scented white, is all set to do well again this year, as are new varieties ‘Millennium’ and ‘Romeo’.

Surprise surprise - no catch!

Amazingly, free chrysanthemums were distributed from Unwins’ stand. Many customers appeared surprised when they were given a healthy plug plant without paying anything. A special show pack of six plants was offered for sale, but there was absolutely no pressure to buy. Unwins is also generously donating profits from chrysanthemum sales to the Greenfingers Appeal.

Happy children

A Suttons Seeds Squad helped to keep children happy in a special area. Each child received a pot, some compost, and a plant plug or bulb, and after being shown how to plant the treasure, was allowed to take the results home. Also designed to encourage children to take up gardening, a project known as the National Schools Busy Lizzie Competition is judged at the show. For this event, approximately 20,000 junior school children have grown an ‘Accent’ Busy Lizzie from a KinderGarden plug plant.

The Organic Garden

HDRA, the Henry Doubleday Research Association and other stands devoted to publicity and advice for the organic way of growing were well represented this year. A Show Garden was devoted to organic gardening.

Roses and special plants

Rose of the Year ‘Irish Eyes’ from Dickson’s Nurseries was present on the Royal National Rose Society stand. In the Floral Marquee, every sale of ‘Charlie’s Rose’, a cherry-red variety from Pococks Roses, raised money for Amnesty International. And from Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants, sales of an evening primrose, Oenothera ‘Crown Imperial’, will help the Greenfinger’s Charity Appeal. Dibley’s dainty new Streptocarpus ‘Crystal Ice’, said to flower perpetually, was on sale in the new Floral Atrium.

Two happy visitors to the Show

Crowds of people left the show holding parcels and plants. A happily smiling woman carried a large willow cone on to an escalator. Fine plaits of willow in a decorative spiral round a wigwam of canes held the structure rigid. She assured her companions that the purchase would help her grow climbers in the herbaceous border.

Another satisfied visitor carefully manoeuvred an eight foot grapevine, fully in flower, onto a mainline train. "It’s the black grape ‘Cardinal’ variety," she told fellow passengers. "I know it’s hardy - I’ve grown one before."