A dinosaur, giant dragonflies and primeval plants are set to take centre stage at BBC Gardeners’ World Live this summer in a large-scale, living landscape conceived by Professor Alice Roberts, the anatomist, biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster (Digging for Britain, Coast, The Incredible Human Journey). Designed by multi award-winning garden designer Professor David Stevens, The Garden of Evolution will trace the origins of plant and animal life to the present day. Alice Roberts will be hosting live, daily conversations about The Garden of Evolution, and experts from plant suppliers, Hillier, will be discussing some of the plants featured.
Professor Alice Roberts said. “I’ve always been fascinated by evolution. I want to have visitors walking through time as the world evolves around them, explaining how life unfurled on the planet, step by step and stage by stage.”
Designer David Stevens said: “Ideas and working as a team are what gardens are all about. I’m thrilled to be working with Alice on this wonderful project.”
Visitors will enter the landscape in the Cambrian age with its dramatic rocks and cascading water. As they wind their way through 500 million years of plant history, mosses, ferns and Ginkgos will give way to the first flowering shrubs and trees, then grasslands and the first Hominins to the eventual cultivation of crop plants like Millet and Gourds. Stepping out into the modern day, visitors will find a model of the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (BIFoR FACE) programme. Located in a Staffordshire woodland, BIFoR FACE is one of the world’s largest climate change experiments, investigating future forest responses to further changes in CO2 levels and the consequent atmospheric impact. BIFoR is based at the University of Birmingham where Alice Roberts is Professor of Public Engagement in Science.
The BBC Gardeners’ World Make a Metre Matter campaign returns this year, encouraging gardeners to transform a metre of outside space to support wildlife, nature and biodiversity. BBC Newsround presenter and allotmenteer De-Graft Mensah and garden designer Lucy Chamberlain are co-creating a Beautiful Border that incorporates individual one-metre spaces to inspire home growing and sustainable gardening. De-Graft is a schools ambassador for this year’s Health for Life Schools Wheelbarrow Competition, inspiring children from local schools to Make a Meal Matter by growing their own ingredients for a trolley display.
2026 marks ten years of APL Avenue at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, the Association of Professional Landscapers’ showcase of technical skill, attention to detail and creative use of materials. Three APL member companies will be creating stylish outdoor living spaces, each with its own aesthetic. Umbrellas by Dave Hodson Gardens from Usk, Monmouthshire is inspired by the bold colour scheme and bittersweet love story of cult 60s French film, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. The Constant Companion by TJ Kennedy Garden and Landscape Design from Rutland, Leicestershire celebrates the relationship between human and garden, man and nature. This interactive garden features visual and audio elements, with framed viewpoints that highlight different aspects, each with its own characteristics. The Mill Ruins by Gunns & Roses Ltd from Spalding, Lincolnshire, designed by David Gisbourne from 3DG in Bury, Greater Manchester is inspired by the sites of old Lancashire mills, now reclaimed by nature. At the APL Design Clinic, visitors can get expert garden planning advice and support.
Grill fans will love the Smoke & Fire Zone, a vibrant new live-fire cooking and outdoor living experience from the award-winning Smoke & Fire Festival, the UK’s largest BBQ and outdoor cooking event. Featuring demonstrations, a hands-on BBQ School, artisan producers, and the stylish Eat.Heat.Retreat Garden, this exciting new feature celebrates gardens as social spaces for cooking, dining and relaxing, inspiring visitors to make more of their outdoor spaces throughout the year.
Ashley Peniston-Bird, Founder and Organiser of Smoke & Fire Festival, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be working with BBC Gardeners’ World Live, showing that gardens are great places to gather, cook and spend real time together. Cooking over fire brings people closer, and we hope visitors leave the Smoke & Fire Zone feeling inspired and confident to light the grill and start using their garden as an extension of their home.”
Also new for 2026 is the QVC Outdoor Living Stage, offering exciting lifestyle inspiration. Emma Jo Real-Davies and Michael Perry (Mr Plant Geek) will be sharing their plant knowledge while Ninja bring their outdoor cooking know-how. Award-winning designers Kitti Kovacs and Anouska Lancaster will have styling tips, and Neom will be talking summer scent and candlelight. Floral bouquet workshops hosted by Jordan Weston (The Bearded Botanist) are new too. Music fans will enjoy BBC Introducing … at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, a new showcase for local music talent, and there are Bandstand buskers too.
At the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Floral Marquee, sponsored by L&G, this year’s new additions are a bookshop with author signings, a centenary display by H.W. Hyde and Son plant nursery, and an immersive celebration of mushrooms by gourmet growers, Caley Brothers. Back this year is the Let’s Talk Plants stage hosted by David Hurrion, offering expert plant advice from the BBC Gardeners’ World presenters and stage sponsor, Hillier. The Hot Off The Potting Bench gallery features brand new plants, jostling for the coveted Peter Seabrook Award for Best New Plant and the British Orchid Council International Orchid Show features spectacular displays and expert advice from specialist societies and nurseries. Head for the Plant Experts’ advice desk hosted by Lucy Chamberlain and Saul Walker to solve your plant problem or join a guided tour. Pot Swap by Wool-Pots returns, exchanging plastic pots from plants bought at the show for a sustainable alternative.
Award-winning design and landscaping teams will be creating large-scale, wow-factor Show Gardens, packed with inspiring ideas for visitors to take home. The Making Change Happen Garden by Rachel Sporborg and The Nelson Trust will showcase the charity’s dedication to helping women facing addiction, mental health challenges and other complex needs which can result in being swept up in the criminal justice system. The garden will be relocated to HMP Eastwood Park, Gloucestershire after the event, opening up pathways for women to learn new skills, gain respite and recover from their experiences. The Heart of the Jungle by husband-and-wife designers Jonathan and Briony Dakic will be an exotic urban garden, and Derby College will create The Artist’s Garden, blending artistic expression with the practical charm of a traditional country cottage garden.
Equally impressive are the mid-sized Showcase Gardens. Trains in the Garden by Andrew Christie celebrates 30 years of voluntary railway service and a life-long interest in trains and railways. Dark Side of the Bloom is a nostalgic tribute to teenage years by Anthony Massie. The Folklorians Garden by Kate Patrick (The Messy Allotmenteer) and Mario Milligan-Nagy from Garradh Landscape & Design explores ancient stories about plants. Greenhouse Noir by Matt Bettison is a contemporary, immersive retreat that highlights how even a modest footprint can become a striking, modern sanctuary. Sensed, Not Seen by Rebecca Williams for sight loss support charity Support4Sight is a sensory garden designed for blind and visually impaired visitors to connect deeply with nature. The Power of Pink Plants by Samantha Stringer celebrates the joy of pink plants.
There are 30 Beautiful Borders this year, all inspired by the theme, ‘Once Upon a Time’, including a collection from WRAGs, the Work and Retrain as a Gardener scheme.
At the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre, Nicki Chapman and BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s Content Director, Kevin Smith, welcome Monty Don, Adam Frost and Frances Tophill for entertaining summer gardening chat and advice, with Professor Alice Roberts discussing The Evolution Garden. Social media gardening personality Jonny Hincks (Gardenwithjonny) joins Theatre sponsor, British Garden Centres, on Saturday and Sunday. This year’s theatre will be a more intimate experience with unallocated seating and tickets priced at just £5, or free of charge for British Garden Centres sessions.
Adam Frost’s Tasting Table returns with cooking demonstrations, summer food inspiration and guests from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and Good Food. Guests include James Martin, Si King, Lisa Faulkner, Barney Desmazery and Perry Wakeman (Rennet & Rind, the award-winning cheesemongers). This year’s Tasting Table sessions include produce from the Packington Estate in Warwickshire, the new home of BBC Gardeners’ World Live from 2027.
Got a garden shopping list? There’s plant, garden and outdoor lifestyle shopping throughout, with a Plant Crèche and car collection service available for heavier items. For indoor gardeners, the Green Rooms houseplant studio hosted by Sarah Gerrard-Jones (@theplantrescuer) and Ian Morrison (Liquid Gold Leaf) offers plants, pots and accessories, expert advice and workshops. For families, The Conservation Volunteers will be hosting hands-on children’s activities, including bug hotel building, a scavenger hunt and seed planting.
Lucy Ashworth, Event Director at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World events, said: “Visitors can look forward to some fantastic days out at BBC Gardeners’ World Live with so much to see, do and learn – not to mention some delicious food and drink at Good Food Show Summer and the exciting new Smoke & Fire Zone. Professor Alice Roberts and David Stevens’ extraordinary evolution landscape is sure to get people talking while highlighting the vital work of BIFoR, monitoring the effects of climate change. We celebrate ten years of APL Avenue this year and the BBC Gardeners’ World Make a Metre Matter campaign is back, with De-Graft Mensah and Lucy Chamberlain inspiring us to grow more of our own food and attract more wildlife into our gardens, no matter how small. With new plants, stages, workshops and displays alongside favourite features like the wonderful Show Gardens, Borders and Floral Marquee, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.”
Tickets for BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC Birmingham (18-21 June) are on sale now at www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com. BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine subscribers enjoy discounted tickets and access to the Subscriber Lounge for up to three friends, with exclusive talks, extra seating and refreshments. All tickets include entry to Good Food Show Summer, featuring kitchen talks, stages and demonstrations, and food and drink tasting and shopping. This year’s guests include James Martin, Si King, Lisa Faulkner, The Fletchers (Fletchers’ Family Farm), and Dr. Chintal Patel.
