Gardening Scotland is the country’s national gardening and outdoor living festival, as well as being its largest plant fair. This year’s event will take place from Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th June at the Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston.
Whether you’re an expert or a novice, Gardening Scotland encompasses everything to do with outside spaces catering for those with an interest in outdoor cooking and dining, growing and playing, or nature and design.
Children love the event’s Big Back Garden, which provides a host of wonderful activities including treasure hunts, games, music, birds of prey, cheerleading and much more.
If you have a gardening query or problem and are stumped for a solution, you can get helpful advice from both the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society (the Caley) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), either through their workshop and question and answers sessions, or directly from their experts.
The Caley Floral Hall is home to Scotland and the UK’s top specialist nurseries and growers, and the event’s show gardens exemplify the latest and highest quality in garden design and plant quality.
New Hopetoun Gardens will present five montages of miniature gardens in the floral hall, showing how the gardens would look in all four seasons, as well as a collection of self-contained miniature gardens.
Fairy gardens will feature in autumn, winter will bring snow-covered winter gardens in the hills, there will be a spring village with domestic gardens and in summer, a river will run through fields and small settlements to the seaside.
The self-contained miniature gardens comprise all sorts of containers – with and without fairies – which are perfect for patios and balconies, as well as one which can live indoors in a bright position.
The fashion for miniature gardening is growing very fast in the UK and is an ideal way of encouraging children to have a go at gardening. Some grandparents are planting miniature gardens to tend with their grandchildren when they visit, and they provide a wonderful solution for enthusiastic gardeners who are downsizing.
There are also more than 400 exhibitors selling a huge range of plants, garden equipment, furniture, landscaping products, food, clothes and jewellery, plus more. Bargain hunters flock to the ‘Great Sunday Sell-Off’, when everything from the smallest plants to entire show gardens are sold at a fraction of their true price.
Gardening Scotland Chairman, Jimmy Gilchrist, has this to say:
“I am passionate about ensuring that everyone feels welcome at Gardening Scotland, and that by providing a day of entertainment, information and inspiration, the event can change the way people see their gardens.â€
WIN FREE TICKETS
Lothian Life has five pairs of tickets available for Gardening Scotland this year. To enter into the draw, simply copy and paste the email link info@lothianlife.co.uk with ‘Gardening Scotland’ in the email subject bar and your name in the body of the message.
Draw closes at midnight on Monday 16th May
PLEASE NOTE THIS DRAW IS NOW CLOSED
Congratulations to winners: Scott Rintoul, Steven Richardson, Heather Balluck, Liz Power, Val Finch.
We hope everyone enjoys their day!
And thanks to Gardening Scotland for the tickets.
For more information see: www.gardeningscotland.com
Ticket hotline 0131 333 0965
FB Gardening Scotland
Twitter @GardenScotland