I have been going to the Garden Press Event for a few years now and it is always a great day. It is hosted by HTA and GIMA and held in that London for garden press; writers, blogger, journalists, social media influences, vloggers etc etc. You have to register to go and they confirm your invitation. Whilst, as said, I go often, I do not always write about the day itself as more often I write about the products I will have seen/trialled/reviewed as a result of the day.
I had such a good day there and saw so many things I thought this year I would do a bit of a round up of the products that particularly caught my eye and might yours as well. Not all products are immediately available as they will be launched during the year. There are many (many) other products at the show, it is not possible to show them all.
This is the Westland Gro-Sure Visiroot 12 tray Growhouse which retails around the £70 mark (you can find it for less on the internet). This is a beautiful growhouse that is very sensibly designed. I have owned a few growhouses particularly when space is tight and these are a fantastic addition to the garden. They have generally blown over or collapsed, or both. The Visiroot 12 Tray Growhouse is designed to fit 12 of the ' visiroot' trays which thevi siroot seed trays fit into. These are a great piece of kit in themselves as they allow you to see the root development of your seedlings and are robust and recyclable. The Growhouse itself is very robust. You can tether it to secure it to a fence/something solid so it does not blow away. You can also peg it to the ground. The frame is screwed together and the shelves are clicked into place. I really liked it and I am seriously considering getting one, the additional sowing space would be useful and I think it is very aesthetically pleasing too.
This is the Earthy Sustainable range from The Satchville Gift Company. The products are made from natural waste products combined with resin. The colour of the product is determined by the waste product used: bamboo, coffee husks, wheat chaff and straw. I think the colours are very attractive and the products are very beautiful. They make a range of bird/bug houses, bird baths and plant pots and they are available from various garden centres and online retailers.
The National Trust has started a very exciting collaboration with Blue Diamond Garden Centres. They are creating seed and bulb ranges and potted perennial collections inspired by specific National Trust gardens such as Sissinghurst and Nymans.
They are also launching a new rose 'Mottifont' bred by Rosen Tantau at Hampton Court Flower Show in July. Very excitingly they have also produced a limited number of apple trees from the original apple tree that Isaac Newton sat under at Woolsthorpe Manor. These trees will be auctioned later on this year.
Burgon & Ball are known for their practical and very beautiful garden tools and accessories. This heart-shaped stainless steel trowel is from their RHS range and I was delighted to be gifted this little beauty. I think of it as very Monty Don.....It sits comfortably in the hand and I am looking forward to putting it to good use. They are also launching a range of brushes: from garden brooms to scrubbing brushes. Look out for these as they are well made and should be very long lasting.
Niwaki are a premier source of Japanese garden tools and equipment and their range is expanding into including seeds as well. I am looking forward to growing these.
I was also grateful to be given this tin of Johnsons Celebration Wildflower seed. This tin contains 17 flower species, they are not all British natives, but all good pollinator friendly flowers such as corn poppy, cosmos, pot marigold and nigella. This mix is 100% flower seeds and should flower from around 8 weeks after sowing until the first frosts and of course the tin itself is recyclable. I know exactly where I am going to sow these as I think these pollinator friendly flowers will be ideal in my new dye garden.
These three new nemesias are from the 'Melody series' and will be a very welcome addition to my garden. These plants were bred by Tim Kerley, who was a Colegrave Seabrook award recipient. It was therefore quite right that the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation were giving them away at the event. The foundation, named after David Colegrave and Peter Seabrook aims to encourage and support young people to have a horticultural career. They provide a variety of scholarships to help students follow the career of their choice in horticulture. The foundation have launched a podcast 'Cultivate your Future' where they speak to people about their careers in horticulture who share their real lived experience.
Last on my list to talk about are Wool Pots. These are pots made of wool, you fill with compost, plant into them and then you can pop the whole pot into the ground if you want to. The 'lip' will naturally (hopefully) deter slugs and snails and the pot will compost into the ground. It is that simple an idea and simple is always good.
