#36 THE GARDEN PRESS EVENT - ISLINGTON

In episode 36 Joff Elphick visits the Garden Press Event at London's Business Design Center. Sue Morgan from Songbird Survival discusses the charity's work addressing the alarming 50% decline in UK songbirds over the past 50 years. She attributes this to complex factors including climate change, land use changes, pesticides, and habitat loss. Sue offers three key tips for bird-friendly gardens: provide shelter (places to perch and feel safe), food (through plants with berries and seeds), and year-round water sources. She also mentions their upcoming Chelsea Flower Show garden designed by Nicola Okey. Alexander Hall from Everedge talks us through their range of powder-coated and corten steel raised-bed and edging products. Founded 30 years ago their products have been used in gardens such as Wisley as well as 100's of other gardens around the UK. Mark Meadows from Buzzbox explains their beekeeping starter kit, which includes everything except the bees themselves. He describes how honey production works with the queen in the brood box and honey storage in the supers, separated by a queen excluder. Andy Rollings reveals David Austin Roses' meticulous 12-year development process, starting with 40,000 hand pollinations generating nearly 400,000 seeds. Only roses tough enough to thrive without special care make it to market, budded onto Rosa laxer rootstock. Paul Duffy from Onduline discusses their lightweight, recyclable corrugated roofing sheets, which are quieter than metal alternatives and last for 15+ years. Anthony from Garden on a Roll offers pre-designed garden layouts on biodegradable paper with lettered plants to match, making gardening accessible for beginners. Jane from Dale Foot Compost creates eco-friendly growing media from bracken (high in potassium) and sheep wool (providing nitrogen and water retention), while also working on peatland restoration. Andrew Tolly from King Seeds highlights their heritage since 1888, specializing in sweet peas (100+ varieties) and vegetable seeds for allotments nationwide. Lastly, Florian introduces Fryd, a gardening app that helps plan  gardens with automatic to-do lists for planting and maintenance.