Landscape and horticulture expert

Add your garden event to the Landscape Juice garden network

Do you have a gardening event that you wish to publicice or perhaps a gardening or allotment group that you need to boost the membership to?

Why not add your details to our 'Facebook' of gardening over at the Landscape Juice Network?

The great thing is, because we have thousands of visitors pass through during the week, your event may get that little bit of exposure you may not get if you pop an ad in the local paper.

Harrogate plays host to a BIGGA industry show 2008

Harrogate - Today sees the start of the BIGGA indoor trade show dedicated to the grounds care industry.

Harrogate is fast becoming the exhibition of choice for greenkeepers and groundsman from all over the UK and Europe with over 250 exhibitors of golf course and sports turf machinery and equipment on display.

Saltex 2007 at Windsor Racecourse

Those in the know - know and those that don't need to get down to Windsor Racecourse next week for the annual Saltex Show 4-6th September 2007.

"IOG SALTEX is the only outdoor event in the UK where thousands of visitors flock to see hundreds of live working demonstrations, new product launches and over 450 leading industry suppliers as well as exciting visitor features, expert advice clinics and an invaluable education programme."

This massive even showcases anyone and everyone that trades the ground care, tree care, landscaping, gardening or golf course management areas.

For the manufacturers who want top sell their latest mowers, spikers, sprayers or chainsaws etc this massive event gets the buyers in front of them.

For the managers and business owners who operate the machinery and equipment in the trade then this is the time to see an enormous collection and see it demonstrated all in one place.

For the groundcare employee it is the chance to get away for the day. Some see it as a skive and a chance to see the scantily clad models adorning the wood chipping stands and others to be fascinated by the vast range of equipment available in the grounds care industry.

Harrogate Autumn Show 2007 - Watch out for the under 16's

Put the gardening show dates in your diary and if the weather holds out the family could have a cracking day walking around the exhibits

Harrogate 14-16 September 2007 at the Great Yorkshire Show Ground. Under 16's get in free if they are accompanied by an adult and and disabled people are allowed one helper to accompany them for free.

A little note on under sixteen's - personally, if kids have an interest in horticulture then let's not patronise them and scrap the 'if accompanied by adult bit'. 

Let them in for free - naturally a six year old might want Mum or Dad, Nan or Grandad with them anyway but a fourteen or fifteen year old is mature enough to look after themselves.

If, as inferred they consider juveniles a liability then they shall be covered by the law of the land. You are more likely to see trouble from an infatuated old man who has not come first with his prized leek than a young lass or lad with a volumous mind and deep interest in horticulture.

Or am I reading into the under sixteen bit too sensitively?

'Together we will beat Cancer'

I have to say that my favourite garden of the Chelsea Flower Show is 'Together we will beat Cancer'.

I am not that much into contemporary designs but this garden, designed by Andy Sturgeon, is really a traditional plants and shrubs garden with a great use of yew hedging to retain the different terraces although I am uncertain of the role the 'Portacabin' has within the garden.

It is somehow the Oak ribbons that transcends gardening to passive messaging. We all interpret things in different ways but what comes across to me is Cancer, the illness that happens to other people is around us all of the time.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Work has started in transforming the 11 acre site at the Royal Hospital into a surreal collection of different gardens on many different themes.

Over the coming weeks over 6,200m of track-way will be laid; the Great Pavilion, an 11,000m structure that 500 buses could park in, will be created; dozens of structures, including nine restaurants, a press tent, which over 1,000 press will utilise, will be built and the BBC will install up to 20 miles of cabling. 

Forty seven show gardens will be created by teams of landscapers and plants-men and on Monday 21 May all the displays will judged by a total of 120 judges, including carnivorous plant and bonsai experts.

Its show time

The gardening year is only in its stumbling infancy but preparations are well advanced for three of this years Flower shows.

The RHS Spring Flower Show, Cardiff (20 – 22 April 2007) is a family friendly event and one where all children under 16 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (3-8 July 2007)

The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park (18 – 22 July 2007)

The emphasis this year is on the young gardener with all three venues providing a fun and interesting day out.

Chelsea up for the Cup?

Chelsea being the Flower Show and the cup the coveted gold medal.

Are you planning to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower show? If you are then I am going to bang the Blog drum again and encourage that you keep a blog about the run up, through the event and of course pictures of that Gold Medal afterward.

Southport Flower Show

I am going to bang my drum again!

Since I covered Reckless Gardener, which in turn led to Mark Feltons Southport Flower Show Blog I have kept a regular watch on Southport Flower Show generally.

Yesterday, I was alerted to Dermuid Gavin's attendance at the show to formerly open proceedings and decided to follow up the story as well as looking at as much information as I could get on the web.

Glee NEC Birmingham

GLEE 2006 is set to take place at the NEC Birmingham on the 17th 18th & 19th September 2006.

Its the premier venue that all nursery owners and suppliers meet and discuss or show related products. Of course it doesn't stop at Horticulture, there is landscape materials, pets supplies and leisure equipment exhibitions too.

For my liking it follows on to soon after Saltex for the landscape industry to attend in force so there is that chance numbers will always be down on what they could be. Maybe the organisers should look at a bigger gap?

Saltex

Saltex the premier landscape show of the year is all but a month away.