The picturesque Yeo Valley in Blagdon, Somerset will host the first Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival featuring Arit Anderson, Alys Fowler, and Frances Tophill.
The festival aims to encourage visitors of all experience levels, to start growing with nature in mind. Gardening skills will be shared in a series of workshops and demonstrations, specialist nurseries will be on hand to offer seasonal plants and bulbs for sale – alongside the promise of music, entertainment and delicious food.
“We are a nation of gardeners with an estimated 30 million gardens between us – that’s about 433,000 hectares of domestic gardens, a bit more than a fifth the size of Wales. The Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival aims to inspire us all to get greener in the garden – wouldn’t that be something?! To that end, the Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival will be an unpretentious, upbeat and light-hearted celebration of gardening, where all garden enthusiasts are welcome. We are determined to ditch the formalities and the ‘one size fits all’ approach to organic gardening, and provide some myth-busting, jargon-breaking, real-life practical solutions to suit every garden and every budget,” said Sarah Mead, Head Gardener of Yeo Valley Organic Garden.
Sponsored by the locally based, peat-free compost producer, RocketGro, the new garden festival will feature talks and panel discussions with known gardeners, such John Little, Kate Bradbury and Mark Diacono. Topics focus on soil health, biodiversity and sustainability to provide practical guidance and insights into sustainable gardening practices and climate-resilient plants.
Held over the course of three days (18th – 20th of September) the festival will be opened by the garden designer, writer and broadcaster, Arit Anderson who is to hold a talk themed ‘Seeds of Change’, on gardening for the climate, now and in the future. On ‘People & Pollinators’, the horticulturist and journalist Alys Fowler will talk on Friday, about perennial vegetables that promote a healthy ecosystem and growing resilient plants for soil, pollinators and human health. Concluding the event on the Saturday, with a talk entitled ‘Mission Possible’, the presenter, author and designer, Frances Tophill aims to remind gardeners that there is no right or wrong in the garden.
“I am thrilled to be speaking at the first ever Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival. We desperately need to speed up the conversation about climate-resilient gardening. I am passionate about finding and encouraging a new generation of gardeners to dig in and get their hands dirty, which really starts with the reminder that there is no ‘right and wrong’ way of creating a garden. This festival promises a positive and inspiring get-together for gardeners of all skill levels to deepen their connection with nature,” said Frances Tophill.
For accessibility, ticket prices are tiered with the maximum set at £60 for a 3-day adult ticket. Concessions are available for students, Yeokens customers, RHS, Garden Organic and Gardens Illustrated members.