BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair - 11-13 September 2026

Sue Kent will be designing a Beautiful Border at BBC Gardeners’ World Live. She will be appearing on her Border daily as well as giving a talk each day on the Let’s Talk Plant Stage and in the BBC Gardeners’ World Subscribers’ Lounge.

In 2020, Sue Kent launched her gardening career by sending a viewer’s home video to BBC2 Gardeners’ World; it was such a hit that she is now a regular presenter on the show, winning a Garden Media Award for her efforts.

Born with an upper limb disability caused by the drug Thalidomide, Sue used her feet and hands to the garden. From her own life experience and her passion for gardening, Sue is keen to show how gardening can be possible with physical limitations and encourage others to have a go whatever their ability may be. Sue is now RHS ambassador for disability inclusions. In July 2022 Sue received a Silver Gilt medal and The People’s Choice award At RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival for her garden.

Alan Titchmarsh was born and brought up on the edge of Ilkley Moor.  He left school at fifteen and became an apprentice gardener in the local nursery, following this with full-time training at horticultural college and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Alan was the main presenter of Gardeners’ World and the hugely popular Ground Force, and has also presented How To Be A Gardener, British Isles – A Natural History, The Great British Village Show, The Nature of Britain.  His own daytime show on ITV, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, featured a combination of music, the arts and conversation, which ran for eight years and he presents his own radio show on Classic FM on Saturday mornings. This year we saw Alan’s new show for ITV, Masterpiece as well as the sixth series of Love Your Garden, ITV.

He writes regularly in BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and Country Life and is gardening correspondent of The Daily Express and The Sunday Express, and writes in The Sunday Telegraph as well.  Alan has written more than 50 gardening books, a Christmas anthology, nine novels, four volumes of memoirs and a miscellany celebrating England and Englishness.

In 1997 Alan was named “Yorkshire Man of the Year”.  He was appointed MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours List, and a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire in 2001, when he was also immortalised by Madame Tussaud’s.  In 2004 he received the Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest accolade in the British gardening world, and in 2009 he was made a Vice President of the Royal Horticultural Society.  He is patron or president of over 50 charities.

Saul Walker fell in love with horticulture through his Grandparents passion for visiting historic houses and gardens, and after a brief spell as an Archaeologist, he went to train and work as a Gardener for the National Trust at Antony House in Cornwall.
 
After many years there he was accepted to study on the prestigious 3-year Kew Diploma of Botanical Horticulture at RBG, Kew and was exposed to the fantastic plant collections in the gardens and glasshouses, as well as travelling to Australia, Southern Spain and the French Riviera to study plants in their native habitats.

Following his time at Kew he spent a couple of years as part of the Show management teams for both the RHS Hampton Court Palace and RHS Chelsea Flower Show respectively, however he was unable to resist the call back to his native Devon, where he is now the Head Gardener of Stonelands House- a privately owned 10-acre garden. Saul’s speciality interests include Woodland Gardens, Orchids, and Exotic plants.

A member of the RHS Tender Plant Committee and Trustee of The Hardy Plant Society and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, he also co-hosts the Talking Heads Podcast with Lucy Chamberlain.

Find out more and book tickets at https://www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com/spring-fair/

Lucy was raised at her parents’ market garden in Essex, before venturing to further her horticultural education at Writtle and Wye colleges.
 

With an Honours Degree in plant sciences she then worked at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden (RHS) Wisley. After six years she left to pursue a career as a garden writer – first, for four years at Amateur Gardening magazine and then for six years as Editor of Grow Your Own magazine. She is now Head Gardener at East Donyland Hall – a 100- acre private estate which is home to a sizeable walled garden. Lucy is author of the book, The RHS Step-by-Step Veg Patch, and she also regularly writes for gardening magazines such as Gardeners’ World, The Garden and Amateur Gardening. She regularly podcasts with her Head Gardener friend, Saul Walker, on the Talking Heads gardening podcast. Lucy is also the gardening expert for BBC Essex radio, and she won Practical Journalist of the Year in 2020. 

Known as ‘The People’s Gardener’, Matt Biggs trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has presented a number of television programmes, written several books and undertake lectures and talks.

He is best known for his regular appearances on Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time. 

Celebrate summer gardening with a great day out at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC, from 15 – 18 June 2023.

The ultimate gardener’s day out includes inspirational Show Gardens and Beautiful Borders, vast Floral Marquee, top gardening experts including Frances Tophill, along with Monty Don, Carol Klein, Adam Frost and Alan Titchmarsh; great shopping, live entertainment and more.
 
Frances Tophill will be at the Show on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 June. Visitors can see Frances sharing practical advice about ‘what to do now’ in your garden on the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre hosted by the Magazine editors. Frances will also take part in ‘In Conversation’ talks with Nicki Chapman, will appear on the new drop-in Let’s Talk Plants Stage, and more.
 
Find out more and book tickets at bbcgardenersworldlive.com

Arit Anderson is a garden designer, writer and presenter on BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World.

She spent 25 years working in the dynamic industries of retail fashion and creative events. She managed teams that delivered collections and events across the globe. She balanced this fast-paced career with interests in well-being, working as a therapist and teaching holistic therapies, which led her to travel extensively to the USA.

It was the joy of having her own garden that enabled Arit to diversify her creative experiences. She found that the visual nature of fashion and the healing properties of her therapies could beautifully meld in the garden. Playing with a new palette of colour and materials in her garden, drove her to explore the unique relationships between her love of plants, people and place.  After just one season, Arit knew she wanted horticulture to become her work as well as her pleasure.

She studied gardening at Capel Manor College and whilst there had success at RHS Chelsea 2013 winning the Fresh Talent category for a student design collaboration with two other students. After attaining a diploma in garden design, she won a Gold Medal for her own design at RHS Hampton Court in 2016 in the conceptual category.

In her designs for both private and commercial clients her ethos includes simplicity and environmental sensitivity – affecting her choice of products and plants at source, with regard to their future setting. Working as presenter for Gardeners World, and writing for national publications has enabled Arit to publicise issues about the future of gardening in an ever-changing climate, and promote solutions to the wider public.

Adam Frost is an award-winning British garden designer, television presenter and motivational speaker.

Best known for his successes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, he is passionate about inspiring adults and children alike to create their own gardens and watch hedgerows spring to life appreciating each one of our distinct seasons as they unfold.

Adam is a presenter on BBC’s Gardeners’ World (BBC Two) and also appears regularly on the BBC’s coverage of RHS Flower Show. He has also featured on The One Show and DIY SOS (BBC One) as well as The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV). In 2016 he won ‘Best New Talent’ at the RTS West Awards.

Since 2007, Adam has amassed seven gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He regularly lectures on a wide range of horticultural topics, both nationally and internationally and is a regular contributor to Gardeners’ World and other horticultural magazines. Adam’s first book Real Gardens was published in 2015 by Red Planet Publishing. His second book ‘RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space’ is available now, published by DK.

Adam’s love for the great outdoors started from a young age when he helped on his grandparent’s allotment. His fascination with watching plants and vegetables grown and the wildlife it attracted has stayed with him and he remains passionate about passing this on to future generations.

He is trained in horticulture and landscape design and began his professional career in the mid-1980’s with an apprenticeship at the North Devon Parks Department. Adam later moved to Rutland where he began working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens where he helped design and create many of the 38 small gardens which are still on show to the public today.

In 2014 Adam set up The Homebase Garden Academy with the specific aim of helping Britain’s next generation of horticulture students to kick-start their careers, by teaching them about garden design and landscaping. As well as running his own garden design and landscape business he also sits on the board for the Horticulture Trades Association; is an RHS Ambassador and runs The Adam Frost Garden School where he hosts masterclasses on design and other gardening courses.

Adam and his wife Sulina live in Lincolnshire with their four children, one horse, two ponies, two dogs and an ancient cat.

Adam is a natural speaker who credits his love of horticulture from his earliest childhood memories, to working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens, before going solo in 1996 for the rollercoaster ride of designing multiple award-winning show gardens!

He enjoys passing on his knowledge and travels all over the world speaking to people about his ‘journey so far.’

From a lifetime in the garden, Adam’s talks are always full of amusing stories, as well as advice and inspiration for anyone hoping to have a career in horticulture.

Lucy Chamberlain - BBC Gardeners' World Spring Fair 2023 Preview

Saul Walker fell in love with horticulture through his Grandparents passion for visiting historic houses and gardens, and after a brief spell as an Archaeologist, he went to train and work as a Gardener for the National Trust at Antony House in Cornwall.
 
After many years there he was accepted to study on the prestigious 3-year Kew Diploma of Botanical Horticulture at RBG, Kew and was exposed to the fantastic plant collections in the gardens and glasshouses, as well as travelling to Australia, Southern Spain and the French Riviera to study plants in their native habitats. 

Following his time at Kew he spent a couple of years as part of the Show management teams for both the RHS Hampton Court Palace and RHS Chelsea Flower Show respectively, however he was unable to resist the call back to his native Devon, where he is now the Head Gardener of Stonelands House- a privately owned 10-acre garden. Saul’s speciality interests include Woodland Gardens, Orchids, and Exotic plants. 

A member of the RHS Tender Plant Committee and Trustee of The Hardy Plant Society and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, he also co-hosts the Talking Heads Podcast with Lucy Chamberlain. 

Find out more and book tickets at bbcgardenersworldfair.com