East Midlands Flower Show returns to Newstead Abbey in July

After a hugely successful first year, the East Midlands Flower Show will return to Newstead Abbey over the weekend of 1-2 July. The beautiful  grounds of Newstead Abbey, the ancestral home of the poet G. Gordon 6^th Lord Byron, will once again, open their gates to fabulous show gardens, designed by local nurseries, horticultural colleges, landscapers and our volunteer teams. There is also inspiration for the amateur gardener with a day of opportunities to meet growers and garden centres on hand to showcase their gorgeous plants, shrubs and trees. There is also a home and garden marquee for seasonal plants, gifts, and garden furniture. Once you are shopped out - relax and listen to some live music with some great local food and drink. There will be talks throughout the day from our experts to help get the most out of the garden or to learn how to use home grown produce to create fabulous seasonal food!  This event will provide a great day out for all of the family with fun activities for children. Advances Tickets are available now at the Early Bird price of £8 for adults with Under 16’s FREE (Advance tickets will be available until 29/06/2017 - On the day tickets £10 Under 16’s FREE) Garden Experts include:

• BBC Radio Nottingham’s John Stirland and Paula Routledge
• Winner of  BBC2’s The Great Chelsea Garden Challenge – Sean Murray
• Alan Gardener – The Autistic Gardener will be sharing is own unique experience of gardening, talking about his new program ‘The Avant Gardner’ and answering your general gardening  questions as part of our expert panel.

Cllr Dave Trimble – Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture said: “We are so pleased to be having the East Midlands Flower Show at Newstead again this year. The first show last year was very popular and featured some beautiful displays with something for the budding professional down to the person that wants a few plants and some advice on how to improve their window box. There are some really interesting local experts to see too. I’m sure the show will become one of the ‘must visit’ events in every gardener’s calendar for many years to come.” About Newstead Abbey and Gardens: Newstead was founded by Henry II as an Augustinian priory c1163. It was dissolved by Henry VII in 1539 and sold to Sir John Byron of Colwick. The priory was converted into a country house, belonged to the Byron family until the 6th Lord Byron, the poet, sold it in 1817. It was bought by his friend Colonel Wildman who carried out extensive alteration to the house, gardens and grounds. The Estate was again sold in 1861 to William Frederick Webb. Between 1864 and 1915 the family remodelled and improved the Formal Garden and grounds including creating several specialist gardens such as the Japanese Garden. After Mr Webb’s death the estate passed through several members of the family until it was sold in 1925 to a local businessman, Sir Julian Cahn. Sir Julian presented the property to Nottingham City Council who have administered it ever since. For more information about Newstead Abbey visit: www.newsteadabbey.org.uk