BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair returns to Audley End

BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair returns to Audley End: BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, in association with English Heritage, returns to Audley End House and Gardens in Saffron Walden, Essex from Friday 30 August – Sunday 1 September, with exciting new highlights. Whether you’re a complete gardening beginner, an experienced expert or are just looking for a great day out in beautiful surroundings, there really is something for everyone.

At the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage, this year’s special guests are Adam Frost (Friday), Joe Swift (Saturday) and, new to the Autumn Fair, Rachel de Thame (Sunday). The BBC Gardeners’ World presenters will join the editors of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine for some seasonal gardening chat to help visitors with ‘what to do now’. Throughout the Fair, horticulturalist and presenter, David Hurrion, will be talking plants with experts from Stage sponsor, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, as well as the English Heritage gardens team.

Over at the new Get Growing Stage, TV chef Marcus Bean, who is a fresh face at the Fair this year, will be hosting a daily line-up of expert growers and foodies, all sharing tips on how to make the most of the autumn months. Joining Marcus on stage will be a number of new experts, including easy garden upcycling tips with Adam Kirtland (View From The Potting Bench), and Helen Cross (Scottish gardening and food writer and broadcaster). Making a welcome return include the hugely popular Sussex-based fungi specialists, the Caley Brothers, community grower Cara Thompson (Make It Flourish), urban smallholder Sara Ward (Hen Corner), and Cambridgeshire dahlia grower, Kim O’Brien.

Want to get hands-on with horticulture and take new skills and knowledge home? The Autumn Fair offers some exciting new bug hotel making workshops led by Adam Kirtland. Plus, newly pre-bookable workshops mean that visitors can look forward to creating an autumn garden bouquet and getting hands on in a practical sweet pea ‘sow-along’. The Caley Brother’s sell-out growing your own oyster mushroom workshops also return.

Packed with inspiration and ideas to take home, the Autumn Fair features stunning garden inspiration in the Showcase Gardens, Beautiful Borders, and a plethora of plants from specialist nurseries and growers. New for 2024, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine expert and horticulturalist David Hurrion, will present this year’s headline Showcase Garden, designed to help visitors get practical ideas and solutions for their gardens. Val Cristman will return with a fresh new Water Mill garden and the APL Landscaping Skills Competition returns with new, inspirational, gardens too, as two member companies of the Association of Professional Landscapers go head-to-head against the clock. Each talented team will showcase their skills under pressure as they create a competition standard show garden in just 16.5 hours, all under the critical eye of the competition’s professional judges. The Association of Professional Landscapers will also be hosting a Landscaping and Design Clinic, offering visitors expert garden design advice.

The Beautiful Borders are the Autumn Fair’s mini show gardens, all brimming with creative inspiration for small spaces. This year’s theme is ‘Share My Space’ and the designs reflect different interpretations of that theme. The Shared Ecologies Border by Peter Buchanan and Libby Bettney from English Heritage’s Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme at Audley End House and Gardens brings plant, animal, and human communities together. Emma Atkinson’s Finding Your ‘Pink’ Border is an oasis for new mums navigating early motherhood, inspired by flamingos whose pink colouring fades after giving birth but returns as the chick matures. In Feasting Amongst Nature’s Aria, Michele Brunnberg sets an intimate dining experience amongst bird and butterfly friendly features and planting.

Sam Cortis and Becca Heard’s Occupation! Border celebrates the power of people coming together to establish a community garden. Sam Wheeler’s The Artist’s Studio Garden is a creative space for making art inspired by plants and nature, while Terry Gilmour’s (The Cockney Gardener) Fancy A Cuppa celebrates the wellbeing benefits of a cup of herbal tea after gardening. Zoe Defoe’s Talk In Space also explores the mental health and therapeutic benefits of sharing space and conversation, surrounded by nature.

Visitors can dive into Audley End House and Gardens’ history with the Plant Experts, Lucy Chamberlain, Saul Walker and the English Heritage gardens team, who will be hosting guided tours of the organic Kitchen Garden (bookable). Visitors can also join drop-in tours on the day, including a guided tour lead by ‘Capability Brown’ as he shares his visionary plans for the local landscape as he saw it in the 1760s, and Mr. Vert, who shares insight into the daily routine of a Victorian kitchen head gardener (no extra charge, drop-in).

For an extra special experience, visitors can upgrade their ticket to enjoy the exclusive, limited, VIP Extra package which includes a couple of glasses of fizz and hot refreshments, VIP Lounge, sweet treats and a goodie bag. Plus, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscribers benefit from the Subscriber Club Lounge, featuring daily talks by the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine editors with special guests and from Lounge sponsor, The Woodland Trust.

Garden shopping is a major highlight at the Autumn Fair. Visitors will be spoilt for choice with more than thirty specialist plant nurseries and growers to browse and buy from, and over 30 high-quality retailers selling garden accessories, décor, tools, equipment and furniture. The Plant Crèche will make plant shopping easy, thanks to volunteers from English Heritage. Donations very welcome.

Delicious food and drinks are never far away, with the Good Food Market to enjoy, sponsored by Lexus. Artisan producers will have a wide range of treats to taste, try and take home, and there are street food options, an alfresco bar and live bandstand entertainment.

Tickets for the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair include full access to Audley End’s grand mansion with its great hall, state rooms, dressing rooms, servants’ wing, stables and chapel, plus the organic walled Kitchen Garden, grounds, gardens, parklands and children’s play area. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds.

Rachel Poletti-Gadd, Portfolio Director – Gardening Division at Immediate Live, organisers of the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, said: “Autumn at Audley End House and Gardens is a wonderful time of year, and we can’t wait to be back. This year’s exciting new highlights and visitors’ favourite features are going to make it a really special event. From hardy growers to have-a-go first-timers, it’s impossible not to find inspiration for your home garden or growing space, and we’re pretty sure you’ll find a new plant or two to take home too!”

Louise Ellis, Head Gardener at Audley End, said: “The BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair is a really special event for our team and we like to get stuck in! We get to share our beautiful grounds and gardens with thousands of keen garden fans and visitors, our trainees will be showcasing their wonderful Shared Ecologies Border, and we’ll be on hand to answer any questions. It’s going to be a great weekend!”

Advance adult prices for the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair start from £16.50 (concessions £15.50), or £13.50 for English Heritage adult members (£12 concessions). Find out more and book tickets at www.bbcgardenersworldfair.com.

*Details correct at time of writing

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