Bishop’s Stortford amateur Charlotte Hugh is considering a career change after scooping three awards at the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair.
The Stortford Fields resident, who transformed her new-build home’s “mud pit” into a haven for wildlife, worked her horticultural magic again at Audley End.
She won Best Beautiful Border, Best BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscriber Border and a Platinum award for her creation, Conversation in Bloom.
Charlotte Hugh in her prize-winning border
Her vision was to create a garden to “pause, sit and talk…that grows with you year after year”.
The tranquil space, with two bespoke benches flanked by pollinator-attracting plants, proved a hit with gardening fans at the three-day event – and Charlotte was on hand to share her expertise.
Her choice of “waste” granite for the benches and a water feature was particularly popular.
Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair
Charlotte told the Indie that her entry was intended as a one-off, but her wins meant she would be willing to enter further competitions. She works in advertising, but said she would love to make garden design her career.
Former model and actress Rachel de Thame decided to make gardening her career in 1998. She is now the author of several books on the subject and a seasoned presenter of programmes, including Gardeners’ World on BBC Two.
She was the headliner on Saturday, following fellow television veteran Adam Frost on Friday and preceding rising star Frances Tophill on Sunday.
Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair
While show-goers looked to her for tips during a series of talks during the day, the event was a two-way street.
She said: “I get so much from this sort of show on many levels. Firstly, we’re in an incredibly beautiful setting. This year, I managed to get inside the house and have a look…before dashing back.
“It’s also got incredibly skilled growers and specialist nurseries, and they are the very best people to get information and advice from. And of course, there’s the chance to buy some really beautiful and often very difficult to find plants. So that’s very special.
Audley End
“The people here are keen gardeners who love their gardens and want to make the best of them. It’s lovely to meet those people.
“Gardening is almost unique in being a leveller of people and giving us all something in common that we love and want to share with others.”
She got the gardening bug from her father, but has a very different style. “He loved his garden and loved plants of all types, and I spent a lot of time as his sort of under-gardener, doing the weeding and that sort of thing quite happily.
Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair
“But what I recognise now, in retrospect, is that he and I think most gardeners of that generation didn’t garden organically, so he sprayed everything.
“It was all about control, having very neat-looking gardens, minimum input from insects and so on.
“I think what has happened is a real sea change, actually, in how we respond to our gardens and what we feel they’re there for.
Blooming marvellous
“My take on it is that I’m just one of the beings that benefits from it. I see my place in it as a sort of collective. So I garden organically and I welcome all sorts of wildlife and, to a very great extent, just let things be.”
Her advice for beginners was simple: “If you’ve got a new garden and you’re getting to know it, sow seeds in the first year. Either direct sow hardy annuals, or if you’ve got somewhere with a bit of protection, you could try some more tender annuals as well.
“And you’ll just have lots of colour. Just fill it up with colourful plants that first year while you’re learning about the garden and finding out how the light hits it at different times of day and different points in the year.”
A welcome rest
In her latest book, A Flower Garden for Pollinators, Rachel argues that gardens do not need to be either wildlife-friendly or beautiful – they can be both.
Writing it was a labour of love with her daughter, Lauren Lusk, a botanical artist and illustrator who trained at Central Saint Martins. Rachel said: “It’s so lovely to have something that we’re both really proud of.”
Her top tip for insect-friendly planting is “remember that you’re looking for a range of different flower shapes, something open like daisy shapes are always really good, single flower dahlias, roses with a nice open shape and also tubular flowers like salvia”.
Music and nature
As well as a huge range of plant sellers and stalls offering everything from wind chimes to water features, Gardeners’ World visitors enjoyed street food, bars, music, mushroom growing masterclasses, build a bug hotel sessions and plant expert tours.
Television presenter and fresh produce importer Chris Bavin, best-known for programmes including Britain’s Best Home Cook, Eat Well for Less?, Britain in Bloom, Food: Truth or Scare, and Tomorrow’s Food, hosted the Autumn Table.
The small workshops included how to make a seasonal wreath, cheese-making, drink mixing and ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement.
Chris Bavin
He said: “It’s small. It’s interactive. It’s just fun… I’m very fortunate that I get to surround myself with experts and specialists. Every day I learn something new.
“I knew very, very little about cheesemaking and wreath-making, and I knew nothing about ikebana. I’m learning. I get to have a go. I get to practice these things as well and come away with some new hobbies.”
Gardening is already a firm favourite. Chris said he was passionate about the benefits of cultivating an outside space.
Audley End
“We’re getting things like gardening prescribed on the NHS. There’s a growing awareness of the mental health benefits, not to mention the physical health benefits, and the environmental health benefits. You know, it’s perfect, isn’t it?
“I was lucky enough to do a show called Britain in Bloom a few years ago, which went around and looked at all different kinds of gardening, including community gardening and beautifying local spaces.
Wreath-making at Chris Bavin’s Autumn Table
“Gardening just makes the world a better place in a small way.”
Fun for all agesEnjoying the showRelaxing on the grassThe good life with rare and unusual hensMan’s best friendBishop’s Stortford’s Petrucci’s serves pizza in the Good Food MarketWatch the birdie!Gardening experts draw a crowdCooling down with a cornetCooling down with a cornetContemplating the beauty of natureMonkey-business at Audley EndArtisan skills on displayHand-crafted garden ornaments costing more than £4,000 were snapped up
All pictures by Gerred Gilronan.
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