No need to leave the West Country this spring, come to Powderham Castle, near Exeter to see the very best of gold medal winning nurseries. 

Enjoy a spectacular display of extraordinary, unusual and beautiful plants with over 100 exhibitors showing across the Castle estate, children's gardening activities, food and craft stalls and live music to help create a garden party atmosphere.

Olympians are not the only Brits to win gold - our exhibitors can boast over 100 RHS Gold Medals:

Whetman Pinks, filling the festival air with the exceptional perfume of their internationally famous blooms; Heucheraolics bringing their astonishing Technicolour Dreamcoat of these leafy, showy plants; Avon Bulbs, famous for their sumptuous displays at flower shows, are consistent winners; Bowdens Hostas hold the National Hosta Collection as well as being champions with their ferns and bamboos; Cornish nursery Kelnan Plants, specialist growers of South African plants, have won 26 RHS Gold Medals to date and leading ornamental grass expert, Neil Lucas of Knoll Gardens holds 10 consecutive RHS Chelsea Golds  -  just some of our award winning exhibitors to be seen at Powderham Castle.

Headlining will be television gardening broadcaster, Toby Buckland, giving talks and demos including advice on planning and planting for year-round colour. Other garden stars include: Anne Swithinbank of Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time; organic expert and author Charles Dowding; Neil Lucas from award-winning Dorset nursery Knoll Gardens; Devon garden historian Dr Todd Gray and garden photographer Jason Ingram who shoots for BBC Gardeners' World, Country Living and provides images for Toby's BBC books. International tree expert Kevin Croucher and RHS Show judge and soon-to-be-star Jim Buttress of BBC 2's The Big Allotment Challenge airing this spring will also be entertaining us in the Speaker's Marquee.

“Kitchen Cuttings” informal 30min talks in the Victorian Kitchen
Fourteen gripping slots filled with gardening treasures during the two day event: Waste Not Weeds, Sally Harvey shows us how to love our weeds – and eat them too! Alarik Greenfield, artist, will talk about his extraordinarily beautiful trees crafted from wire and peridot stones that take weeks to complete; “Learn to love your Rhubarb” with Lori Reich of Shute Fruit or discover the art of good soil with compost maestro, Nicky Scott. Radio Cornwall’s Tracy Wilson will be talking plant disease and if you haven’t heard of Mexican Mouse Melon then stop by and hear all about them from Pennard Plants, a Somerset nursery with one of the most remarkable collections of “Incredible Edibles”.

Pumpkin mania, Children’s tent and family entertainment
Keen to encourage another generation of young gardeners there’ll be a dedicated children’s tent
and we are giving away thousands of free Thompson and Morgan pumpkin seeds to launch the start of Toby's Pumpkin Fest 2014. Take away your seeds, grow a big-un and bring it back to our Autumn Harvest on Sunday 26th October and you could win a prize.

• Powderham Forge will be demonstrating their blacksmith skills
• Devon Dowsers will be joining us to explain the mysterious art of dowsing
• Growing Devon Schools, Send a Cow, & Devon Gardens Trust will be sharing a stand providing fun and interactive demonstrations will engage the whole family with techniques they can copy at home, building bag gardens and tip taps.
• Bouncy castle
• Live bands and Dan the Hat will be providing entertainment

Come and celebrate some of the West Country’s finest nurseries with a packed programme of talks, demos, and plenty of family fun to make this one of the finest and friendliest plant fairs of the year.

Ample free parking and tractor-trailer service between the car park and Festival ground

Plant sherpas and plant creche available

Open Friday 2 May, 10am–5pm and Saturday 3 May, 10am–6pm.

http://www.tobygardenfest.co.uk/

Tickets: adults £5, children under 16 free. Entry includes admission to Powderham Castle. Free parking. Discounts available. Group discounts are available for groups of 12 and over. Contact info@tobybuckland.com with your requirements.