I’m unbelievably excited. Next weekend will be the second Scone Palace Garden Fair!
Building on from last year’s launch, it’s something I’m very proud to be involved with.
It brings the best of Scottish horticulture all together on the one site for two days of celebration on Friday June 2 and Saturday June 3.
‘Blown away’ by gardening community
Personally, I think a gardening gathering for our country is important.
Even now as part of the organising team I’m blown away when I see just how much there is and what we have to offer in our wee gardening community.
Garden groups, societies, plant nurseries and garden centres that I’d either forgotten about or didn’t even know was out there at all.
I’m glad of getting this opportunity to learn, meet, talk about and buy plants from the best in the business.
Why did Scone Palace Garden Fair start?
The Garden Fair at Scone Palace started after we sadly lost our national show Gardening Scotland, which used to be held annually down at the Royal Highland Centre in Ingliston.
I loved going down there, such a great day out looking at all the plants for sales, displays by the various groups and societies, show gardens from local authorities and colleges, plus a great chance to bump into gardening friends.
The timing of the event had felt just right too and is why we’ve kept the same weekend slot.
Just at the point in the gardening year where for weeks previously we’d been working all our socks off growing plants for the veg plot.
Getting them in the ground along with the likes of dahlias and summer bedding, ‘safe’ in the knowledge overnight frosts had past.
It was a chance to get away for the day and be mesmerised by all the spring colours.
It couldn’t get any better as I would head down there with a mental note in my head of all the gaps in my garden needing filled just knowing I was never going to get a better chance of finding a plant or two, three, often four and more, to do the job.
Saving money on petrol!
Now I’m lucky enough to have the nurseries on my doorstep.
I’ve even managed to convince myself I can spend that little bit more as I’m saving myself petrol money!
I really hope to see you there and capture the same feelings that I have.
It’s important to make clear however that our Garden Fair is not the size of its predecessor.
This is the first time I’ve been involved in such a thing and it’s amazing how much it costs to run events like these.
However, this didn’t seem to be a bad thing based on some of the feedback we received from many of those who attended last year.
Opportunity to ask questions at Scone Palace Garden Fair
They enjoyed the more relaxed style of layout on the beautifully striped lawns outside the Palace.
Indeed, many of the plant nursery owners, that is the men and women whose talent and skills grow these plants and so know all about them, felt the gardeners who attended last year felt more able to stop and ask all about their plants and the definitive, best way to grow them.
That to me sounds perfect and the gardening community I love being a part of.
So if you have a question, take a cup of tea and a biscuit for whoever it is you want to speak to and you probably won’t get them to stop talking.
Macplants from East Lothian will be joining the likes of Elmlea Plants, Rowan Tree Garden Centre, Kevock Garden Plants & Designs and Binny Plants who were with us last year.
Stan from Growforth I think prefers coffee but he is one man I’d recommend worth chatting gardening with.
George Anderson from Beechgrove Garden and Carole Baxter
On Friday the horticultural encyclopaedia from Beechgrove Garden that is George Anderson will be there all day looking forward to meeting you and answering all your gardening questions.
In fact, I challenge someone to ask George a question he doesn’t know the answer to!
The Queen of Scottish gardening Carole Baxter, who has been keeping us right in our gardens for 40 years now, will be doing the same all-day Saturday.
This year we are setting up a potting shed tent for short garden talks on various aspects of gardening.
Design, therapeutic gardening, plant specialists and with sustainability firmly at the front of our minds, the work being done by Ally Mitchell of Ocean Plastic Pots converting the rope waste found in our seas into pots.
Workshops for children
Gardening with my kids was one of my favourite weekend activities as they were growing up.
Helen Cross will be carrying out workshops based on her book called ‘Grow, Cook, Inspire’, a gardening companion for parents, teachers or anyone involved with children.
After being inspired from the wealth of experience in attendance, horticultural training colleges will be there to encourage the next generations of talent into a career in horticulture which I’m very excited will also be on display in our new Scottish Garden Design competition.
Based on the compact size of a small garden or border plot there will be ten finalists with the chance for those of you coming to vote for your favourite too.
I cannae wait!
Conversation