The BBC Gardeners' World Autumn Fair, in association with English Heritage, returns to Saffron Walden this September.
The Autumn Fair will take place at Audley End House and Gardens from Friday, September 1 to Sunday, September 3, with garden inspiration, take-home ideas and expert seasonal advice.
Taking centre stage will be showcase garden 'An Edible Garden Through Time', designed by plant expert and head gardener at East Donyland Hall, Lucy Chamberlain, along with Audley End's kitchen garden experts Gemma Sturges and Kelly Fowler.
The garden charts the 'grow your own' movement - starting at a 19th century kitchen garden, moving to a family vegetable garden from 1968 (the year of Gardeners' World's first BBC TV broadcast), to a modern-day plot embracing the organic and wildlife-friendly practices used at Audley End today.
Lucy will also host the Let's Grow Stage alongside the garden, with tips about growing and a line-up of experts including urban smallholder Sara Ward.
Other showcase gardens will be 'Rest to Follow Your Path', designed by horticultural students at Downing College Cambridge, the 'St Andrew's Sensory Adventure', designed by Ele Fox, Jane O'Leary and children at St Andrew's Primary School in North Weald, and 'The Dahlia Garden' by florist, grower and garden designer Kim O'Brien, who will also be hosting daily dahlia bouquet workshops.
The Autumn Fair is also offering inspiration for smaller spaces with 'Beautiful Borders' - a collection of 9m squared mini spaces, packed with creative features and planting with a theme of 'my garden escape'.
Included among the designs is Cara Thompson's 'Make It Flourish Together' design, inspired by a riverbank walk to the Make It Flourish community growing space in Dunmow.
Gardeners' World presenters Frances Tophill, Arit Anderson and Adam Frost will appear on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Throughout the show weekend there will be ticketed tours of Audley End's kitchen garden, while a performer dressed as the venue's original gardener Capability Brown will be leading drop-in tours of the grounds, sharing his vision for the landscape as he saw it in the 1760s.
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A wide range of plants, gardening kits, tools and accessories will be available to buy, along with refreshments from the BBC Good Food Market and live bandstand entertainment.
Tickets for the Autumn Fair include full access to Audley End's grand mansion and the kitchen garden, grounds, gardens, parklands and children's play area. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds.
Louise Ellis, head gardener at Audley End, said: "It’s great to be sharing Audley End with keen gardeners again this year at the Autumn Fair.
"We’re particularly excited about the headline showcase garden which is a real tribute to the organic kitchen garden principles that we practise here.
"We’re a friendly bunch and happy to answer any questions so we look forward to seeing visitors in their thousands, enjoying a great day out."
Advance prices for the Gardeners' World Autumn Fair start from £15.30 (£13.80 for concessions), or £11.50 for English Heritage adult members (£10.30 concessions).
To book go to www.bbcgardenersworldfair.com.
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