What to see, who will be there and what to buy: Our guide to Gardeners' World Live show

The BBC Gardeners' World Live show will bring four days of exhibits, talks and workshops, with show gardens and floral displays to enjoy, achievable ideas to try at home, plants to browse and buy, well-known gardening faces sharing expert advice, and hands-on workshops to dive into.

The event is one attended by thousands of people each year and provides a mixture of established show events and new stages and workshops, so this story will aim to break down what is happening, where it is happening and some of the further asked questions about the show.

Where and when is the show taking place?

The BBC Gardeners' World Live show will be taking place at the NEC Birmingham between Thursday, June 13 and Sunday, June 16.

How much are tickets to the show and where can I get them from?

General admission tickets cost £28 for adults and £26 for concessions (people aged 65 and over), while tickets for children aged between six and 17 at £14 and under-fives go free.

There are also two-day tickets available, costing for adults £43 for Thursday and Friday and £44 for both Friday and Saturday and Saturday and Sunday.

For Concessions, the cost is £41 for Thursday and Friday and £42 for both Friday and Saturday and Saturday and Sunday.

There are VIP admission tickets available as well for all four days, costing £100 for adults and £98 for concessions, as well as £67 for carers on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, the cost goes up to £105 for adults and £103 for concessions, as well as £71 for carers.

VIP tickets include general admission and access to the VIP Lounge, front block seat in one BBC Gardeners' World Live Theatre session, a VIP Goody bag and glass of fizz, VIP Cloakroom and toilets, VIP Parking and a Shopper bag.

Tickets can also be bought for Plant Expert tours, which are exclusive pre-Show tours of the Show gardens with a resident expert, with plenty of chances to ask questions and cost £12.50 per person.

Garden walks are also available with tours of the gardens. These are selling quickly, with only Sunday walks available at £12.50 per person.

Tickets can be bought by going to gardenersworldlive.seetickets.com/content/show-options

Tickets for BBC Gardeners’ World Live include entry to the BBC Good Food Show Summer, featuring demonstrations, theatres, stages and talks, book signing, tastings and workshops, street food, and food and drink to taste and buy.

What are some of the new shows taking place?

New for 2024 and designed to inspire town and city types is the Urban Gardens space.

Sponsored by Blue Diamond Garden Centre group, the event is packed with ideas, plants and products for creative containers, balconies and window boxes.

On the Urban Gardens Stage, Ade Sellars (AKA The Good Life Gardener) will be hosting daily sessions by a line-up of expert urban gardeners, and there will be a Showcase Garden showdown between the UK’s top young landscaping teams, fresh from their success at WorldSkills UK, the national youth skills event.

Two teams will compete to create the perfect city garden, mentored by award-winning garden designer, Cherry Carmen. Blue Diamond will present their own feature garden, showcasing ten essential plants for urban gardens, with all plants featured, and more, available to buy in the dedicated Urban Gardens retail area.

The BBC Gardeners’ World Live will also be the new home for the British Orchid Council’s annual International Orchid Show.

The ‘show within a show’ will be a major highlight of the Floral Marquee and will feature displays by more than 25 to 30 specialist orchid growers, offering breathtaking displays and expert advice for orchid lovers.

Also new for 2024 is the Get Growing Stage, an informal, drop-in space that’s dedicated to the joy of home growing.

Garden Organic’s Chris Collins will host a daily programme of top tips and growing advice, joined by a line-up of well-known ‘Grow Your Own’ gurus, including Jason Williams (Cloud Gardener UK), Hannah Reid, Adam Kirkland and Lydia Lakemoore.

Chefs from The Pig and Lime Wood hotel will be hosting alfresco cooking demonstrations on-stage, next to The Pig Allotment Garden which marks the opening of the new The Pig on the Farm near Stratford-Upon-Avon in June.

Who from BBC Gardener's World will be appearing at the show?

BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost’s headline Show Garden, The Chef’s Table, is sure to draw a crowd at the show.

The large, walk-through garden will be a celebration of home-grown produce, featuring a rustic outdoor cooking and eating space set amongst an array of tasty plants.

Adam will be hosting a daily programme of ‘plot-to-plate’ themed conversations and delicious demos on his garden with chefs and culinary friends from sister event, BBC Good Food Show Summer, including James Martin, Michel Roux, and BBC Good Food’s Cassie Best.

Visitors can enjoy some gardening chat at the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre.

Presenters Monty Don, Adam Frost, Frances Tophill, Carol Klein and Joe Swift will be ‘in conversation’ with Nicki Chapman and swapping summer garden tips with the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine editors.

Theatre sponsor, British Garden Centres, will be hosting daily sessions with guests, Michael Perry.

What are some of the headline events and exhibits at the show?

The BBC Gardeners’ World Live Floral Marquee is always a treat for the senses with its heady scents, colourful displays by specialist plant growers and nurseries, plants to buy, and feature highlights.

In this year’s expanded Hot Off The Potting Bench walk-through gallery, visitors will be able to view brand new plants and varieties close-up as they vie for this year’s Peter Seabrook Award for Best New Plant at BBC Gardeners’ World Live.

Horticulturalists, Lucy Chamberlain and Saul Walker will be hosting Plant Expert Workshops as well as offering one-to-one help at the popular Plant Expert advice desk and hosting garden tours and walks.

Stroll along the avenues and take in the Show Gardens by award-winning designers and teams, including Derby College with Derbyshire Historic Building Trust, Adam Marshall (AKA @greenfingeredcityboy) and Kate Mason for an NHS establishment in Lancashire & Pippa Probert will be presenting ‘The Viewers Garden’.

Those attending can also find ideas for smaller gardens from the mid-size Showcase and Feature Gardens from designers including; A Plot Amongst the Chickens by Benjamin Shutler; Share My Space-With Nature by Carleen Osbourne; The Pig’s Allotment Garden by The Pig (Homegrown Hotels); Nature’s Embrace by Becky Sibley (Wild Thyme Designs Limited); Flora & Flavour by Hannah Reid; Take Me Home by Consuelo Franco (Franco Brain); Stop and smell the flowers by Julie Haylock (Sandhurst Garden Design).

In the Association of Professional Landscapers’ APL Avenue Show Garden Competition, four member companies will be showcasing their skills, creating back garden designs inspired by the theme, ‘The Good Life’.

The entries this year include Anna Helps Garden Design with Costa Cadiz, Fenton Gardens with Lunatica, Dan Hartley Garden Design with Eco Oasis and Katerina Kantalis with The Mediterraneo Garden.

Keen indoor gardeners can head straight for the new layout House Plant Hub designed by Hayley of Mint Plants with its tempting House Plant Market and Stage where host, Ellen Mary, and expert special guests will be sharing their secrets for happy, healthy house plants.

What opportunities are there to shop at the show?

Shopping opportunities are a major attraction at BBC Gardeners’ World Live with a vast range of plants for sale in the Floral Marquee, Plant Village, House Plant Market and new Urban Gardens zone.

100s of high-quality retailers will be on site, selling garden accessories, décor, tools, equipment and furniture, both inside and outside the show halls, with plenty of show offers and bargains to be had.

There’s a Plant Crèche for hands-free, hassle-free shopping and a car collection service available for heavier items.

What competitions and events for younger people are there?

The popular Health for Life Wheelbarrow Competition returns this year, nurturing the next generation of gardeners and growers.

Children from local schools and nurseries will be creating wheelbarrow planters with a ‘food and climate change’ theme, sharing their designs with tens of thousands of visitors.

There’s plenty to keep young visitors entertained at the show too, like admiring carnivorous plants and bonsai in the Floral Marquee, joining The Conservation Volunteers for a drop-in seed sowing session, or enjoying fish and chips or an ice cream.

Children aged five and under go free every day (ticket required) and under 16s go free at the weekend.

What have the organisers got to say about the show?

Rachel Poletti-Gadd, portfolio director - Gardening Division at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World Events, said: “From Adam Frost’s headline Show Garden and Urban Gardens space to the Get Growing Stage, Plant Expert Workshops and more, we can’t wait to share this year’s exciting new highlights with visitors, along with the show’s much-loved favourite features.

"We’re also thrilled to be welcoming the annual International Orchid Show which will be a wonderful addition to our Floral Marquee.

"If you love gardens and plants, gardening and growing, or just enjoy a great day out with excellent food, drink and entertainment, there really is no better place to be this summer.

"Inspiration and new ideas to try at home, expert advice, famous faces, delicious food and unique shopping opportunities – BBC Gardeners’ World Live and BBC Good Food Summer have it all”