West Midlands designers set to create stunning gardens for Gardeners' World show at NEC

A number of different and diverse gardens are set to be on display at the show, which is taking place at the NEC Birmingham from June 12 to June 15, in a display entitled Beautiful Borders.

The Beautiful Borders are 9m2 miniature show gardens, packed with creative planting and design inspiration for small gardens and difficult spaces, with the theme for 2025 being ’Cultivating Connections’.

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s Medicinal Garden is a living tribute to the charity’s lifesaving work and the positive impact it has on patients’ recovery. 

Designed by Lucy Chapman and Helen Swan and built by multi award-winning Rupert Keys from TASK Academy in Pershore, the charity’s large-scale Show Garden explores trauma and medical emergency through to recovery and the restorative power of nature. 

Nature has long been intertwined with healing, and many of the plants in the garden reflect this connection.

The Medicinal Garden invites visitors to reflect on the fragility of life, the strength of the human spirit, and the vital role Midlands Air Ambulance Charity plays in saving lives and giving new chances to flourish. 

At a later date after BBC Gardeners’ World Live, elements of the garden will be permanently re-located to the charity’s airbase and headquarters at Shifnal in Shropshire as an enduring place of reflection and remembrance for patients, families and crew.

Sunflower Power is a Showcase Garden designed for Kingswinford Leukaemia charity, Beth’s Sunflowers, which grows and sells sunflower seeds to raise funds. Designed by Hannah Thomas with landscaping by Jack Moody Group in Wolverhampton, the garden celebrates the power and positivity of the sunflower as a force for good, highlighting the charity’s work to support blood cancer research and patients. 

Beth’s Sunflowers was established by Andrea Childs after the death of her daughter Beth at the age of 20 from Leukaemia in 2018.  

Sutton Coldfield designer, Alexandra Valk, from Wylde & Green has created a Border called After the End which explores the connections between the end and the beginning of life. 

Death is represented by a spiral of logs made from dead wood. 

As the wood rots down, nutrients pass to the organisms and creatures living in the soil, and from this decay springs forth a new garden. 

A spiral shaped design reflects that commonly found in nature, from whirlwinds to snail shells, and the association with rebirth found in cultures around the world.

Halesowen designer Christopher North’s Border, A British Rainforest, raises awareness of temperate rainforests and the need to protect them. 

Rarer than their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are globally important habitats found in mild climates with high rainfall and humidity. 

They are rich in biodiversity, but are increasingly rare in Britain, threatened by deforestation and overgrazing. 

A British Rainforest encapsulates a regenerating rainforest, underplanted with native British flora.

Lucy Tremlett, Event Director at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World Live, said: “We’re always blown away by the creativity, brilliant design, hard work and effort that goes into creating the Show Gardens, Showcase Gardens and Beautiful Borders. 

"We can’t wait to see these fantastic West Midlands teams bring their exciting designs to life at the NEC. 

"BBC Gardeners’ World Live visitors can look forward to being wowed by a really exciting collection of gardens this year.”

For more information about the displays and about the show, go to the Gardeners' World Live website.