It’s just a matter of days until the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, in association with English Heritage, opens at the majestic setting of Audley End House and Gardens, Saffron Walden (Friday 1 – Sunday 3 September 2023). The event marks the start of autumn with seasonal garden inspiration, expert tips and advice, fun workshops, and plants to browse and buy.

Stunning Showcase Gardens will be packed with creative designs, planting features and autumn colour, offering visitors ideas to try at home. Lucy Chamberlain, Head Gardener at East Donyland Hall near Colchester and one of the Autumn Fair’s Plant Experts, with Audley End kitchen gardeners, Gemma Sturges and Kelly Fowler, have designed the organic, wildlife friendly Edible Garden Through Time. Val Christman, a BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair 2022 Gold award winning designer from Widford in Hertfordshire, has designed Child’s Play, an Autism-inspired children’s garden, and children from St. Andrew’s CE Primary School in North Weald have designed a nature and wellbeing Sensory Adventure Garden, which will be relocated at the school afterwards. 

Downing College Cambridge Head Gardener, Jack Sharp, and his team have designed Rest to Follow Your Path, awellbeing garden highlighting the importance of gardens as supportive spaces for positive mental and physical health which will become a permanent feature at the College after the show. Also from Cambridge, award-winning dahlia grower Kim O’Brien’s Life-Force Garden is inspired by water moving through hollow dahlia stems, signifying the similarities between plant systems and the human body.

Gardeners’ World presenters Frances Tophill (Friday), Arit Anderson (Saturday) and Adam Frost (Sunday) will be sprinkling some TV magic, sharing seasonal gardening tips with the Gardeners’ World Magazine team at the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Stage and In Conversation with Chris Bavin in Audley End’s restored Parterre gardens.

For small space inspiration, the Autumn Fair’s collection of compact Beautiful Borders will be bursting with ideas to achieve at home, all with the theme of ‘My Garden Escape’. Local professional landscaping companies will take on the Association of Professional Landscapers’ Skills Competition to build a competition standard show garden in just 16.5 hours, putting their technical skills, talent and  teamwork to the test under the watchful eye of expert assessors.

If living the good life is a passion or ambition, the Let’s Grow talks area hosted by Lucy Chamberlain and Chris Bavin offers expert advice on all things grow-your-own, from growing your own food, allotment gardening and family-friendly growing to apple pressing and keeping chickens. Guest speakers include GYO gurus Ade Sellars, Chris Collins, Lee Connelly, Matt Oliver, and urban smallholder, Sara Ward.

Plant Experts, Lucy Chamberlain, Saul Walker, Tamsin Westhorpe and members of the English Heritage Gardens team will be hosting tours of Audley End’s organic Kitchen Garden and there are historical tours of the property’s unique Capability Brown landscape. For those that like to get hands-on and creative, there are daily mushroom growing workshops with Caley Brothers (book in advance), dahlia bouquet making sessions with Kim O’Brien (book on the day), and a daily ‘sow and grow along’ with Great Dunmow flower grower, Cara Thompson, at her Make It Flourish Beautiful Border (walk up, FOC).    

Specialist growers, nurseries and retailers will be offering a wide range of seasonal plants, gardening kit, tools and accessories, with a Plant Creche for bag-free shopping. There are delicious eats, treats, drinks and street food to sample and buy at the BBC Good Food Market with toe-tapping bandstand entertainment.

Autumn Fair tickets include access to Audley End’s grand mansion with its great hall, state rooms, dressing rooms, servants’ wing, stables and chapel, and the organic walled Kitchen Garden, grounds, gardens, parklands and children’s play area. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds.

Rachel Poletti-Gadd, Portfolio Director - Gardening Division at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, said: “There’s no finer place to celebrate the start of autumn than at Audley End, the spectacular setting for the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair. Where better to enjoy a wonderful day out with seasonal gardening inspiration, expert advice, plants galore, delicious food and drink, and all of Audley End’s attractions to explore! We can’t wait to welcome visitors along to this very special event.”  

Advance adult prices for the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair start from £15.30 (concessions £13.80), or £11.50 for English Heritage adult members (£10.30 concessions). Find out more and book tickets at www.bbcgardenersworldfair.com