Talented female experts join Belvoir Castle’s Flower Show line up

Local gardening experts and talented designers, Karen Gimson and Paula Routledge, are joining the list of horticultural experts who can be found at Belvoir Castle’s Flower and Garden Show this year.

Taking place on Saturday 12^th and Sunday 13^th July at the historic castle in the heart of the East Midlands, the show is expected to be the best yet with many talented and famous faces attending, including Adam Frost and David Domoney, hosting Q&A sessions, talks and meet-and-greets.

Over the weekend, Karen Gimson is hosting free children’s gardening sessions for the third year in a row, sponsored by the British Garden Centres Group. The sessions show little ones how to pot up, water and label pollinator plants which they can take home and continue to nurture. Karen will also be spending time with families, speaking with them about how they can get into gardening and giving tips on growing plants with children in mind.

Karen is an established gardening columnist for Garden News Magazine, radio presenter on BBC Radio Leicester and speaker and regularly hosts gardening clubs which focus on creating all year-round colour, identifying interesting varieties of shrubs and plants and helping pollinators thrive.

Speaking of the children’s gardening sessions which also featured in last year’s show, Karen said: “Everyone wants to give nature a helping hand and getting children outdoors and growing flowers and food is fantastic. At previous Belvoir Castle shows, even young toddlers were keen to get their hands in the compost and with a bit of help managed to pot up their plants. Children of all ages enjoy choosing the colours of the plants they want to grow and take home. It’s amazing how careful they are with the delicate little plants and their interest and enthusiasm is heart-warming.”

Paula Routledge is well known locally for her flower farm in Nottinghamshire, Floral Media, which is open for members of the National Garden Scheme and private groups. Paula is also a Chelsea Flower Show medallist and RHS Floral Judge and she’ll be demonstrating those skills in her ‘Floral Demonstration’ sessions, taking place on the Sunday. The sessions showcase the best of British flowers and how to arrange them using sustainable techniques.

Andy Tudbury, head gardener at Belvoir Castle and founder of the show, said: “The Flower and Garden Show is all about bringing our community closer to gardening, making it accessible and functional, but also inspirational and we have a wonderful group of experts helping us to do this.

“We’re really excited to have Karen and Paula join the line up and each of them brings individual skills, specific interests and specialisms to the show which we think our visitors will enjoy and appreciate.”

Whilst at the show, visitors can also admire stunning displays from talented designers in the annual ‘Best Countryside Border’ competition. Open to anyone involved in garden design, horticulture and landscaping, the competition is supported by the London College of Garden Design and celebrates planting schemes and showcases new horticulturists in their careers.

For an extra special atmosphere, vintage singer Johnny Victory and the Belvoir Wassailers are performing throughout the weekend and guests can enjoy unique shopping opportunities from small businesses.

Once visitors have explored the show, Belvoir Castle’s own gardens will be open for guests to admire including the Rose Garden, Duchess Garden, Hermit’s Garden and the Japanese Woodland, whilst all generations of families can make the most of Belvoir’s adventure playground and burn energy on the slides, zip wires, towers in the secluded woodland area.

The Belvoir Retail Village will also be open for those looking to browse independent shops including The Grange Garden Centre, The Belvoir Farm Shop, Bumbles Interiors and The Duchess Collection or for those looking to take a moment and relax with some delicious food and drink at Belvoir Bistro.

“One of the wonderful things about this show is the range of things visitors can do. There’s an opportunity to learn through mine and Karen’s sessions but also to admire and be dazzled by Belvoir’s own gardens and the talented designers taking part in the borders competition. I’m looking forward to showing visitors how they can get the most out of British flowers, arranging them in a beautiful way that leaves them with lovely memories once they get home,” added Paula.

Early bird tickets for the Belvoir Castle Flower and Garden Show are £15 for adults and £5 for children and can be booked via the website.