By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Gardening and food lovers turned out in their thousands at the recent, first ever, national event for grow your own fruit and vegetables, The Edible Garden Show.
The Edible Garden Show was meant to have started last year but, for some reason, that did not come to pass but now it is finally up and running and, judging form the visitor numbers, it is off to a good start.
Crowds were queuing to get in before the doors opened on Saturday and Sunday following the launch day described as an “amazing success” by Jim Paice MP, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food.
Celebrity gardeners and chefs added their praise for the show that has taken the gardening world by storm with TV gardening expert Diarmuid Gavin saying that he had a “fabulous day” and adding: “The show was thronged with visitors and it was brilliant browsing around the stands at everything the budding fruit and vegetable gardener could possibly require.”
TV presenter James Wong, the host of BBC’s Grow Your Own Drugs, declared: “Finally, a dedicated event just for grow your owners. So exciting to see everything you could ever need under one roof. Lots of specialist independents too! The only down side is I think I’ve maxed my credit cards already!”
Mr Paice, who officially opened the event at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, on Friday, March 18, with Diarmuid Gavin, said he was highly impressed by the wide range of educational grow-your- own projects targeted at children and how people didn’t necessarily need a garden to grow fruit and vegetables. He said: “I’ve seen lots of clever stuff on how to grow your own in rainwater gutters, window boxes and patios... all very clever ways of growing fruit and vegetables.”
The show also attracted the hugely popular BBC Radio 4 programme Gardeners’ Question Time which was recorded from Stoneleigh on the opening day with Eric Robson and the GQT panel – Anne Swithinbank, Pippa Greenwood and Bob Flowerdew.
More than 10,800 people attended the inaugural show and spokesman for the organisers said: “We are delighted by the response from the public to our first show. Exhibitors have been reporting a roaring trade at the stands throughout all three days. Many of them had to send out for fresh stock at the end of the opening day.”
To be perfectly honest a show such as this was and is needed, especially in the current climate of “grow-your-own”, which has a number of reasons, and shows such as the RHS Flower Shows and the one or two other Home & DIY shows cannot cater for the “grow-your-own” sector probably.
Stoneleigh, unfortunately, is a location , however, that is not easy to get to unless one has and uses a motorcar. Public transport, in the form of the train, is a difficult and expensive undertaking and maybe it would be a good idea to consider creating some local shows.
It is true that recently we saw one show of this nature in the South of |England, top be more precise, in Surrey but also Loseley Park near Guildford is a place that requires personal motorized transportation to get to.
Next year’s Edible Garden Show will take place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, from March 16-18, 2012.
© 2011
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