Reckless Gardener - BBC Gardeners' World Live 2006 -

Sandy Felton discovers the unusual and traditional at this year's Gardeners' World Live

Monty Don opening the show at the Highways Agency garden

Visitors to the popular BBC Gardeners' World Live event at Birmingham, this year, certainly get value for money with a new three-in-one format. Not only can you discover the very best in gardening but also enjoy the very latest in interior design with the BBC Good Homes Live show as well as the tastiest in food with the BBC Good Food Show.

The three shows create the biggest ever five-day lifestyle event in the Midlands and bring together over 900 exhibitors.

As usual there was a wide variety of garden styles and designs with the Best Show Garden going to the Highways Agency for "Trunk Roads and Sustainable Roots" (Gold) designed by the Marney Hall Consultancy. The garden represents a piece of verge alongside a motorway with planting which is consistent with native flora found in this type of roadside situation.

The garden (pictured above) was perfectly executed but I wonder if its important ecological message might be lost to visitors because the garden lacks colour. For example one of the aims of the garden is to draw attention to the crucial role the Highways Agency plays in protecting the ecological habitats on road verges and how road users can help by not dropping litter that will damage plants and harm wildlife etc. Because it is a roadside verge there is little colour but this does makes a group of vibrant poppies stand out alongside a group of teasels on a newly disturbed piece of earth.

Which for me, the traditional gardener, is why I loved the other garden to win Gold - 'Sculptors Retreat' (pictured below) designed by Sue Adcock Garden & Landscape Design, sponsored by Renault. This really is an atmospheric garden with predominantly green and cream foliage interspersed with blues, yellows and whites around the pond.

I have only one adverse comment on this lovely garden and that was the 'cushion' seat used in the retreat which seemed out of context with the rest of the garden. This year the garden cushion seems to be popular on a lot of the gardens at Birmingham - but for me, being of a more senior nature, a good garden seat well designed cannot be beaten!

So onto my other favourite, David Domoney's 'The Croft Spot -Tranquillity Garden', (Silver-Gilt - pictured below) based on the principles of Yin and Yang and with lovely garden furniture - just perfect for the design. For me there is something colonial about this garden which is designed to help you find harmony and balance with your inner self. The colour scheme is stunning, particularly the circular path with its soft toned aggregates and water to symbolise hard and gentle. The planting is chosen for its soothing colours so there are plenty of purples in Lavenders and Rosemary with a lovely Purple Beech. Nice one David, loved it.

I was particularly impressed with "Steeling Time in the Garden" (Bronze) designed by one of the youngest designers at the show, Charlotte Newitt who is sponsored by ThyssenKrupp Stainless Steel Ltd. Lottie's theme depicts that gardening can be young and fun and she certainly achieves that aim with cool, clean surfaces of stainless steel designed to appeal to both young and old, with clever traditional planting using old cottage garden varieties.

Lottie (18 - pictured below) is a student at Pershore College and will be going on to study a Degree in Horticulture. "It's been harder than I thought," said Lottie. "There is a lot of paperwork involved. It’s nice looking at it now but as it was my first time there was a struggle to get contacts and things, but now it has all come together I am quite pleased with myself." We think you should be too Lottie!

One garden which will be stimulating interest throughout the show will be the Gardeners' World 40 Year Garden, (pictured below) designed by Joe Swift. The garden sums up all that Gardeners' World has reflected over those 40 years and there is a clever 40 incorporated into the garden in box. Planting reflects the era of each garden presenter down the decades and I think Joe has done a pretty good job with his interpretation with a really lovely garden.

'Impression on Time' designed by Yvonne Matthews (Silver) is notable for a lovely mosaic backdrop and the clever use of a simple kitchen colander for a hanging basket useful on 'Time Well Spent'. Designer Niki Palmer uses large blocks of discarded glass for a waterfall in 'A Courtyard Retreat' (Silver Gilt) and BT show us some interesting ideas for using telegraph poles in 'BT Wireless Wherever' (Silver) a garden with some lovely planting but somewhat let down by the type of path used, which I think is a shame because Chris Myers has produced a lovely garden.

The Best Small Garden award and Silver Gilt medal went to The Ambrosial Forest designed by Anthea Guthrie, a garden inspired by her love of childhood fairy tales.

Plenty to see, plenty to do - so if you haven't yet decided whether or not to go to Birmingham in the next few days to catch the Show we suggest you do. If you have already got tickets then enjoy.