Following on from my previous blog on the Garden Press event – it was good to see a number of nurseries and plant suppliers present, many of whom were showing new plants and seeds. This was great from an attendees perspective as I have come home laden with goodies to try out! Again sorry if you were there but don’t get a mention!
First up was Coblands Nursery – I had the pleasure of visiting the Nursery in Kent last summer so it was great to catch up with Nigel Gibson again. They offer both commercial and retail outlets for their plants but were displaying a range from their Best4plants range which is an online garden centre, I guess in some way rivalling Crocus.
Presnting their range of ‘larger than usual’ bulbs were Avon bulbs, I think what appeals here is that the bulbs are UK grown, not, as so many are, from Holland or Europe. If you are looking for great spring and summer flowering bulbs this site is well worth a visit. They have won numerous RHS Gold Medals for their show exhibits over the years. As a little thank you visitors were presented with a pack of Gladiolous callianthus 
I am really looking forward to trying these, having first seen them a few years ago when they were known as Acidanthera murielae!
Celebrating 50 years were the Beth Chatto gardens and it was great to see some of the team buzzing with enthusiasm and interested as ever, I have the gardens in Essex high on my list of gardens to visit.
There were a couple of interesting seed merchants there. Worthy of note were Harrod Horticultural with their range of Stephanie’s (Harrod) Kitchen Garden Organic Seeds and Thompson and Morgan for their wide range of seeds and plant plugs. Perhaps the most interesting thing particularly if you are new to growing your own is a range from Unwins called Gro-sure which come with a guarantee of successful results. There were of course many others!
Many of the stands had interesting organic or eco-friendly products on display including Vitax with some organic slug pellets fetchingly called Slug Death XL - no guesses as to what that does then!
The award for the Best Overall Stand at the event though went to a company called Carbon Gold. This is an innovative company formed by Craig Sams – who also started Green & Blacks Chocolate. A quote from their website
“Biochar offers a fresh solution to the challenge of climate change. Carbon Gold is developing a portfolio of projects that uses the latest technology to turn surplus biomass into biochar – a form of fine-grained charcoal that is high in carbon and largely resistant to decomposition.
Biochar offers a unique tool to combat global warming because it can capture the carbon dioxide that has been absorbed by growing plants and tie it up in the soil for hundreds of years, so preventing it re-entering the carbon cycle.
Biochar also increases soil productivity, retains moisture and reduces nutrient leaching, thus reducing the need for irrigation and artificial or organic fertilisers. Unlike charcoal, biochar can be sourced from various types of biomass, typically from surplus agricultural materials, such as crop residues, tree prunings and agro-processing by-products.”
This certainly seemed an amazing product and it will be interesting to follow its progress in the market, we shall see just what impact it can have.
There were of course tools and machinery on display and all sorts of novelties, like Backdoorshoes – which take on from where Crocs left off!
One thing I found which was particularly interesting as a garden designer was a publication on the Husqvarna stand which had analysed the many ‘garden blogs’ from around the world and had identified the most prevalent topics of discussion, surmising that these were likely to be the styles and trends most reflected in the corners of the globe – it makes fascinating reading and perhaps I’ll find a way to share some of its contents here.
Still on the design theme Vectorworks were showing their new Vectorworks 2010 software. I use an earlier version and recently reviewed Tamsin Slatter’s book on the subject. They are certainly forging ahead with developments and it is now justifiably regarded as the number one CAD software for garden designers. Like so many software packages it is a vast programme, but the backup and support available makes learning a pleasurable experience.
An interesting show and one that I could easily have spent another day at and still not spoken to everyone! Here’s to next year!
Tags: benefit · CAD · garden design · gardening · grow your own · Inspiration · Plant · reduced carbon · sustainable · Vectorworks2 Comments
thought you would like to know of a brilliant Garden protector….I like most gardeners suffer from slugs and snails in this damp weather and in fact now that the climate has changed all over the world we have the slug and snail problem all year round, I have tried beer traps, copper tape, and salt, egg shells, even throwing them in my neighbours garden ( Just kidding )etc,etc all these methods are not practical long lasting and are harmful to Children, pets , wildlife ,and our Environment. A new device to control slugs and snails called the slugbell placed around flowers and vegetable garden , they use both Organic or Normal Metaldehyde bug pellets and that the small amount of pellets needed will last up to three months.!!! as they don’t dissolve in the soil and Brilliant for our environment , I will try anything to keep my garden looking how it should whilst protecting natures cycle
Hi Tim,
Good to meet you at the show last week and good to hear that you are using our software. I noticed that you did not have a hyperlink on Vectorworks in your blog so for those who want to find out more about Vectorworks Landmark, our website is http://www.vectorworks.uk.com/vw/index.jsp