500 million years of plant and human history captured in headline garden

A dinosaur, giant dragonflies and primeval plants are set to take centre stage at BBC Gardeners’ World Live this summer.

It's part of a large-scale, living landscape conceived by Professor Alice Roberts, the anatomist, biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster.

Designed by multi award-winning garden designer Professor David Stevens, The Garden of Evolution will trace the origins of plant and animal life to the present day. Alice Roberts will be hosting live, daily conversations about The Garden of Evolution, and experts from plant suppliers, Hillier, will be discussing some of the plants featured.
 
Professor Alice Roberts said: “I’ve always been fascinated by evolution. I want to have visitors walking through time as the world evolves around them, explaining how life unfurled on the planet, step by step and stage by stage.”
  
The BBC Gardeners’ World Make a Metre Matter' campaign will also return this year, encouraging gardeners to transform a metre of outside space to support wildlife, nature and biodiversity. BBC Newsround presenter and allotmenteer De-Graft Mensah and garden designer Lucy Chamberlain are co-creating a Beautiful Border that incorporates individual one-metre spaces to inspire home growing and sustainable gardening.

De-Graft is a schools ambassador for this year’s Health for Life Schools Wheelbarrow Competition, inspiring children from local schools to Make a Meal Matter by growing their own ingredients for a trolley display.
 
Grill fans will love the Smoke & Fire Zone, a vibrant new live-fire cooking and outdoor living experience from the award-winning Smoke & Fire Festival, the UK's largest BBQ and outdoor cooking event. Featuring demonstrations, a hands-on BBQ School, artisan producers, and the stylish Eat.Heat.Retreat Garden, this exciting new feature celebrates gardens as social spaces for cooking, dining and relaxing, inspiring visitors to make more of their outdoor spaces throughout the year.
 
Ashley Peniston-Bird, Founder and Organiser of Smoke & Fire Festival, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be working with BBC Gardeners’ World Live, showing that gardens are great places to gather, cook and spend real time together.

"Cooking over fire brings people closer, and we hope visitors leave the Smoke & Fire Zone feeling inspired and confident to light the grill and start using their garden as an extension of their home.” 
 
Adam Frost’s Tasting Table returns with cooking demonstrations, summer food inspiration and guests from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and Good Food. Guests include James Martin, Si King, Lisa Faulkner, Barney Desmazery and Perry Wakeman (Rennet & Rind, the award-winning cheesemongers). This year’s Tasting Table sessions include produce from the Packington Estate in Warwickshire, the new home of BBC Gardeners’ World Live from 2027.
 
Lucy Ashworth, Event Director at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World events, said: “Visitors can look forward to some fantastic days out at BBC Gardeners’ World Live with so much to see, do and learn – not to mention some delicious food and drink at Good Food Show Summer and the exciting new Smoke & Fire Zone.

"Professor Alice Roberts and David Stevens’ extraordinary evolution landscape is sure to get people talking while highlighting the vital work of BIFoR, monitoring the effects of climate change.

"We celebrate ten years of APL Avenue this year and the BBC Gardeners’ World Make a Metre Matter campaign is back, with De-Graft Mensah and Lucy Chamberlain inspiring us to grow more of our own food and attract more wildlife into our gardens, no matter how small.

"With new plants, stages, workshops and displays alongside favourite features like the wonderful Show Gardens, Borders and Floral Marquee, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.”
 
Tickets for BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC Birmingham between 18th - 21st June are on sale now at bbcgardenersworldlive.com.