The ever-popular Specialist Autumn Plant Fair returns to Borde Hill on Sunday 15th September from 10am to 3pm. Hosted by the Plant Fairs Roadshow, a collective of independent specialist nurseries, visitors can expect an extraordinary lineup of locally grown, garden-worthy and unusual plants from leading growers from across the South East, including several RHS exhibitors, in a series of beautiful stalls on the Azalea Ring.
Borde Hill’s expert Garden Team will be on hand to answer questions and help visitors find the right plant for the right place, while Senior Gardener Matt Johnson will be giving a complimentary talk titled ‘Caring for Tender Plants over Winter’ in the marquee at 12 noon. In this 20-minute drop-in session, visitors can discover how to save their salvias, defend their dahlias, and protect their pelargoniums through the colder months. Matt will also share guidance on taking cuttings, providing ground protection for perennials, and lifting and storing those most cherished plants.
Late summer is a great time to visit the Garden, with dahlias, Japanese anemones, hydrangeas, fuchsias, miscanthus, berberis, sedums, helenium and, of course, roses, all providing sumptuous colour well into autumn. Jay Robin’s Rose Garden, with its 750 plus David Austin English roses, continues to captivate visitors with its colour and fragrance, and contrasts well with the adjacent Blue Borders, where Symphyotrichum ‘Little Carlow’, S. ‘Monch’ and Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’ group all take centre stage at this time of year.
And don’t miss Paradise Walk, a perennial border recently designed by Chris Beardshaw with plantings including Agastache ‘Blue Boa’, Geranium ‘Rozanne’, Eriophyllum lanatum and Actaea ‘James Compton.’