Gardening Scotland 2007 is a gardening and outdoor event which starts tomorrow June 1st until Sunday June 3rd. It is located at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh. There is ample parking but if you live in Edinburgh, or travelling by bus or train, you may wish to use the shuttle bus service which operates from Edinburgh’s Haymarket railway station.
This year’s show will include Show Gardens, the BBC Beechgrove Theatre where visitors can meet Scotland’s gardening celebrities, dozens of exhibitors selling everything you could ever need to make your own garden grow and a huge Living Garden area, complete with fruit cages, hives and honey bees. The weather has been predicted to be warm with sunshine and showers – but rain won’t dampen the spirits of the visitors one little bit!
At the heart of the Show lies the fabulous Floral Hall which will be filled with the colour and scent of hundreds of thousands of beautiful flowers. I have to say here that this is always my favourite part of the show. I love the buzz of the crowds, the beautiful displays by the Nurseries, the plant sales tables and most of all seeing the happy visitors carrying bags and bags of plants!
This year, in the Floral Hall, visitors will find ‘Gardening The Earth’, the most ambitious display ever mounted by the world-renowned Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Only to be seen at Gardening Scotland 2007, the exhibit is designed to showcase the organisation’s vital conservation work in more than 30 countries around the world. As well as plants at the show their are other attractions including an International Food Festival and Craft Marquee.
I have just watched a preview of the show and one garden caught my eye – the one by the College of Agriculture. I am looking forward to seeing this one finished – I particularly liked the colours of both the plants and hard landscaping. Inside the marque one of the Nurseries that I will always visit first will be Binny Plants. This is one of my favourite Scottish Nurseries located in Ecclesmachan, just outside Edinburgh. Binny has always a great range of more unusual plants and his display garden never disappoints – I always like the use of water, stone and metal sculpture too.
If you are visiting the show this weekend I would like to wish you a great time!