The Abbey Hotel in Bath has staged an exclusive reception to preview the highlights of the National Gardening Show, which opens on Friday at the Royal Bath & West Showground.
Attended by more than 100 leading figures from Bath and the regional business community, the event was held in the newly-refurbished hotel and its Allium Brasserie.
The hotel was bought by acclaimed boutique hoteliers Ian and Christa Taylor in January. Over the past few months they have transformed it into a stylish destination. Chef/patron Chris Staines, whose background includes a Michelin star, has been appointed to launch the brasserie, which in a short time has become one of the top five restaurants in Bath, according to Trip Adviser.
Welcoming the guests, Ian said: “We are delighted to be involved as one of the sponsors for the National Gardening Show. One of our core values at the Allium Brasserie is using top quality, fresh, seasonal produce, sourced as locally as possible – values which are shared by the food and gardening lovers who visit the show. By having a strong presence at the event, we will be reaching an audience who will enjoy dining with us and the dishes created by our head chef Chris Staines.”
National Gardening Show chair Annie Maw spoke about the event’s formal charity this year – Horatio's Garden Friends. Led by the Southern Spinal Injuries Trust (SSIT) and launched at the show two years ago, the appeal was established to create an innovative rehabilitation garden at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury, which caters for patients from across the South and South West.
Annie said: “This week the Paralympic torches are being lit all over the UK and they will converge in the Olympic Cauldron at the opening of the games. This, luckily for us, coincides with the National Gardening Show.
The show will celebrate the Paralympic ethos and will be dedicated to the latest new development in the delivery of rehabilitation to spinally injured people, she said.
Annie also highlighted the show’s support for Tools Shed, an innovative scheme and brainchild of The Conservation Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting positive environmental news, awareness and action.
The innovative project is designed to equip the next generation of gardeners, teach prisoners new skills and reduce waste. Run in association with HM Prisons, people donate old, damaged or unwanted tools which are refurbished in prison workshops and are then given free to local schools and community gardens.
The National Gardening Show is hosting the South West launch of Tools Shed. With the help of Cheddar Garden Centre, the show’s main sponsor, visitors are being asked to bring tools that are broken but too good to throw away. These will be refurbished at HMP Dartmoor.
The event also had a presentation from the team behind the acclaimed community initiative, the Edible Bus Stop (EBS). Makaela Gilchrist and Will Sandy established the project to help transform neglected and disused sites along transport networks into valuable community growing spaces. The project was launched initially in South London and is now going live nationally at the show with a visually stunning garden feature. This will be relocated after the show to the winner of a competition to nominate a local bus stop for a makeover by the EBS team.
The winning town will named at a VIP reception at the show sponsored by Circle Bath on Friday, the first day of three-day show. It will be the first Edible Bus Stop outside London. All plants and flowers for the bus stop are being provided by with Cleeve Nursery, near Bristol.
Recognised as a powerful force for change, the project is a social enterprise and entirely. Makaela said: “We’re excited to be launching the Edible Bus Stop at the 2012 National Gardening Show and are very grateful to Annie for her support and belief in our project. The project brings out the best in humanity. Whether that be local or national businesses who support us with their goods, services and time, or locals who come out to garden the sites, keep an eye on them and implicitly understand it’s theirs to care for, respect and protect.
“We believe that brutal landscapes make for brutal outlooks. By encouraging communities to take responsibility for their neglected public spaces, old and young can come together for a common cause. The Edible Bus Stop project doesn't just grow gardens, it grows communities. By bringing people together, barriers are broken down, conversations are had and connections are made.”
Alan Lyons, show manager at The Royal Bath & West of England Society, which organises the National Gardening Show and stages it at its showground near Shepton Mallet, outlined other show highlights which help make the event one of the most popular in the UK gardening calendar.
These include the Instant Gardening Challenge, run by the Cheddar Garden Centre, the Show and Feature Gardens, the hugely-successful UK National Giant Vegetable Championships, key trade exhibitors and a return visit by the Bath-based Natural Theatre Company.
Alan said: “Gardening is all about passion – and that sums up my excitement about the National Gardening Show. It's about people’s passion for gardening. Some people love one kind of gardening, others another – but we are expecting them all to find what they want to see at our show.
“From gardening celebrities to the Secret Gardens of Somerset and the South West, from National Dahlias to Giant Vegetables, from poultry to goats, allotments and small holdings, people bring their exhibits with passion.”
Pictured: left to right, Annie Maw, Alan Lyons, Christa Taylor, Paul Hooper and Ian Taylor
