A quiet corner Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about Steven Ballinger’s Border below. Designed by Steven BallingerAwarded Gold and BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscriber Best Beautiful Border For Steven, any part of a garden is an escape, but he will always seem to find one corner a real retreat. Surrounded by plants, and encased by foliage, a place to sit and relax is the ideal way to escape, slow down and take a moment to destress. Let calm and tranquillity envelope you as you escape into this garden escape. With thanks to  Explore the Beautiful Borders FIND OUT MORE Discover garden inspiration Find out more

To the garden I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about Shona Lockheart’s Border below. Designed by Shona Lockheart, awarded Gold Shona’s garden escape is the physical act of gardening itself. From going outside to a world she has created, tending to and caring for the plants she has chosen, to planting new additions and learning about new plants, their needs and requirements. Training and pruning, to enhance or maintain the beauty around her. Creating a symbiotic relationship between the environment and myself, both feeding and nourishing the needs of the other. This garden is for the hands on gardener, who finds their peace in getting their hands dirty, caring for their creation and who’s escape is in the plants, the engagement with them and the joy their prosperity brings.   With thanks to  Explore the Beautiful Borders FIND OUT MORE Discover garden inspiration Find out more

As you like it Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about Katie Day’s Border below. Designed by Katie Day, awarded Silver Merit “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts…”Katie’s Border offers an escape into the storyworld of William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It – a romance with gender swapping set in the Forest of Arden (just down the road from the NEC!). The play centres around the escape of the young people from the formality of the Court into the freedoms offered by the natural landscape of the forest. Katie’s border design echoes this clear divide. The Court is represented by a formal Tudor Parterre style garden with a tightly clipped Buxus sempervirens hedge, which was a popular garden style in Shakespeare’s day. A custom built decorative arch with “woodbine” (Lonicera periclymenum) growingover it leads into a path of log stepping stones through informal woodland style planting and a feature Hawthorn tree (Crataegus monogyna), invoking the Forest of Arden. The planting in this area is purposefully colourful and celebratory with flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants reflecting the flourishing of young love, the ‘Bleeding Heart’ (Lamprocapnosspectabilis) being the most direct example. The gender swapping by the character Rosalind as she enters the forest inspired the decision to incorporate the colours of the Trans flag – Pink, Blue and White – into the painted archway and the planting colour palette. Katie has selected pink, blue and white flowering plants that flower in June, as well as considering shape to reflect both masculine (Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora) and feminine (Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’).The Hawthorn tree (Crataegus monogyna) acts as a focus for the story elements, and is decoratedwith ribbons and tiny fragments of mirror to reflect the viewers’ own images and incorporate them intothe border. A heart-shaped sign with ‘Rosalind’ carved into it is hung against the trunk, and lovepoems written on paper are spiked onto the thorns and branches.“…There is a man haunts the forest that abuses our young plants with carving Rosalind on their barks;hangs odes upon hawthorns and elegies on brambles; all, forsooth, deifying the name of Rosalind.” With thanks to  Explore the Beautiful Borders FIND OUT MORE Discover garden inspiration Find out more

A shared chrysalis Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about Rachel Wells’ Border below. Designed by Rachel Wells of Hortulani, awarded Gold This border is a protective and nurturing space to share with butterflies and moths throughout each stage of their development.Change can be a positive experience, and by drawing on her own personal and professional development over the last decade, Rachel’s border reflects how she needed a place to rest and recharge to be able to develop and flourish, just like at risk butterfly and moth species.Using plants that attract butterflies and moths during the day and at night, this border incorporates water, resting areas and includes habitats for each stage of their development; a safe haven to be shared. With thanks to  Explore the Beautiful Borders FIND OUT MORE Discover garden inspiration Find out more

Keep off the grass Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about James Fenneberg’s Border below. Designed by James FennebergAwarded Platinum and Best Interpretation of Theme Agave plants are a prominent feature in the design and symbolise the sense of protection James wanted to create for his space. The inspiration came from once reading about how their spiky leaves were used by ancient Mayans in their bloodletting rituals.The idea for this protective border originated from the annoyance of people walking over his newly sown front garden meadow as well as a desire to create a space of dangerous beauty. The  design incorporates a substrate of volcanic black sand and rock, volcanism was also an integral part of ancient Maya life, this will also accommodate ground nesting wasps and bees whilst  setting off the planting with contrasting colours.James has studied both fine art and scenic painting and as a relative newcomer to gardening draws upon his experience with colour and shape as the basis for his design. Inspired by the fractal shapes, growth patterns and jewel like aesthetics in the formation of these plants, James has incorporated this into the overall spiral design. With thanks to  Explore the Beautiful Borders FIND OUT MORE Discover garden inspiration Find out more

Strengthen your body, feed your mind and heal your soul Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about Adam Marshall’s Border below. Designed by Adam Marshall, awarded Gold Creating a garden nurtures you in ways you would not have thought possible, both physically and mentally. This garden will have a clear passage to a cloud tree, trained and nurtured into its strong, tranquil form to symbolise the gardener at the end of the process of creating the garden, replenished and empowered.The garden will have a pull-up bar arch framing the cloud tree, allowing the user to escape the fast pace of life and to work out amongst the beauty of nature. Bright, scented flowers and exercise releases endorphins, improving well-being.After all, gardening is not about creating a finished garden, it is the greater well-being you are rewarded with through working with nature. With thanks to  Explore the Beautiful Borders FIND OUT MORE Discover garden inspiration Find out more

The Imaginary Topiary Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about Ralph Bourdoukan‘s Border below. Designed by Ralph Bourdoukan, awarded Gold This border is conceived as a small contemplative landscape. In an island of drought tolerant plants, the grasses dance around the immobile yet ethereal looking sculptures that act as transparent topiary. These hand-woven wire sculptures were inspired by Ralph’s experience of gardens as a creative refuge. The reflection of the plants and the sky in the water surrounding the island invites contemplation. The planting avoids strong contrasts and hot colours to further instil a feeling of calm, where one can escape the turmoil of a busy urban life. With thanks to  Explore the Beautiful Borders FIND OUT MORE Discover garden inspiration Find out more

The Fontana Garden Every year an exciting collection of gardens come to life in a celebration of how imagination and creativity can transform your outdoor space. It’s an unbeatable way to get ideas for your own garden. Show Gardens are judged to the highest standards of design, planting and inspiration. Find out more about Kim Parish’s Show Garden below! Awarded Silver Merit, designed by Kim Parish The garden is sponsored by 92-year-old Derek Bishop, whose lifetime ambition has been to be part of a show garden.  Derek has designed and constructed his own magnificent 14-acre garden in SE Cornwall and commissioned award-winning designer Kim Parish to design a garden that celebrates and reflects the diversity of planting opportunities within Cornwall.  Upon completion of the show, the garden has been designed so that it can be gifted to Cornwall Hospice Care, who provide specialist care for end-of-life patients.  It will provide an amazing resource for patients, their families and staff at a very difficult time. /*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 */ .elementor-widget-divider{--divider-border-style:none;--divider-border-width:1px;--divider-color:#0c0d0e;--divider-icon-size:20px;--divider-element-spacing:10px;--divider-pattern-height:24px;--divider-pattern-size:20px;--divider-pattern-url:none;--divider-pattern-repeat:repeat-x}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider{display:flex}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{font-size:15px;line-height:1;max-width:95%}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__element{margin:0 var(--divider-element-spacing);flex-shrink:0}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-icon{font-size:var(--divider-icon-size)}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider-separator{display:flex;margin:0;direction:ltr}.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator{align-items:center}.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator:before{display:block;content:"";border-bottom:0;flex-grow:1;border-top:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider .elementor-divider-separator>.elementor-divider__svg:first-of-type{flex-grow:0;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider-separator:before{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider__element{margin-left:0}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider .elementor-divider-separator>.elementor-divider__svg:last-of-type{flex-grow:0;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider-separator:after{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider__element{margin-right:0}.elementor-widget-divider:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text):not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon) .elementor-divider-separator{border-top:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern{--divider-border-style:none}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern.elementor-widget-divider--view-line .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not([class*=elementor-widget-divider--view]) .elementor-divider-separator{width:100%;min-height:var(--divider-pattern-height);-webkit-mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;-webkit-mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);background-color:var(--divider-color);-webkit-mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url);mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url)}.elementor-widget-divider--no-spacing{--divider-pattern-size:auto}.elementor-widget-divider--bg-round{--divider-pattern-repeat:round}.rtl .elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{direction:rtl}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-divider,.e-con>.elementor-widget-divider{width:var(--container-widget-width,100%);--flex-grow:var(--container-widget-flex-grow)} With thanks to garden product suppliers

Where there's a Willow Designed by Cathy Perry The garden begins with naturalistic planting, a dash of rewilding, and a love of mixing wild, cultivated and edible plants. The garden uses lots of natural materials and looks to upcycle exciting pieces of junk – there really is a message in our bottles! With thanks to At Birmingham Hospice, we believe that every moment matters. Throughout our 150-year history, local communities have been able to access the care and support they need, when they need it most. Our mission is, and always will be, to help people from all communities access the care of their choice at the end of life. That may be 24-hour care in our specialist Inpatient Units, care in their own home, support at our Living Well Centres, counselling and wellbeing, and a range of expert services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy and complementary therapies. Find space savvy ideas in Beautiful Borders See more Showcase Gardens coming to BBC Gardeners' World Live 2023 With thanks to 

Derby College 'Restoration Garden' Every year an exciting collection of gardens come to life in a celebration of how imagination and creativity can transform your outdoor space. It’s an unbeatable way to get ideas for your own garden. Show Gardens are judged to the highest standards of design, planting and inspiration. Find out more about Derby College’s Show Garden below! Award Silver Merit, designed by Derby College Wingfield railway station in Derbyshire was one of 13 built by the North Midland Railway and is the only one to survive ‘as-built’. It is one of the earliest surviving station buildings in Britain it closed in 1967 and tragically decayed over years of neglect. The building is Grade II* and listed on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust are restoring the building and will find new uses for it.The show garden celebrates the transformation of Wingfield station from a forgotten and derelict Victorian treasure into what will become a faithfully restored unique historic building.The garden will encapsulate the restoration using two design themes: One showing the dereliction ‘before’ with wild naturalistic planting contrasting with a second more structured and contemporary area indicating the completed restoration ‘after’.  With thanks to garden product suppliers