A typical post-a&a Roadshow scene with keen container gardeners queuing up to pick the brains of Ann Nicholas, one of the two presenters of this year's tour.


THE 2000 SHOW - REVIEW

The 2000 a&a Container Planting Roadshow tour of ten UK garden centres by New Zealand horticulturists Ann Nicholas and Jenny Oakley demonstrated that keen gardeners are prepared to go to great lengths to learn something new, with members of the audience at several of the venues having made round trips of over 100 miles to catch the demonstrations by the two girls.

Many members of the audiences were seeing the girl's for a second time, and the articles in a national magazine such as Garden Answers clearly attracted gardeners from outside the normal catchment areas for several of the venues. Those who had travelled some distance all made a point of telling the girls that they had found the trip well worthwhile.

Ann and Jenny also received fan mail from gardeners who had attended last year's tour, including pictures of unusual container plantings they had been inspired to try. In all over 1200 gardeners were entertained and informed by this year's Roadshow, which started its UK Tour at Plymouth's Endsleigh Garden Centre, where the two presenters featured in a ten minute radio interview on West Hams Radio's Morning Show.

FUTURE SHOWS

Plans for future shows are already in place so please contact us if your are interested in
  • Becoming a sponsor
  • Hosting the event at your garden centre
  • Wish to be informed of future venues
Ann Nicholas
Ann Nicholas is one of New Zealand's leading gardening experts, with an established reputation for creating exciting and innovative container plantings.

With over 15 years' experience in the horticultural industry, she is regularly in demand to demonstrate her knowledge and imagination both on TV and in gardening magazines back home in New Zealand, with many examples of her work appearing in 'Your Home & Garden', that country's leading home interest magazine. She is also regularly involved in the Ellerslie Show, New Zealand's equivalent of the famous Chelsea Flower Show.

Jenny Oakley
Jenny had worked with Ann Nicholas before, and brought a new dimension to the Roadshow 2000 presentations both in content and style, having been curator of the ten acre Hollard Gardens in New Zealand where she spent a lot of her time lecturing to the public. Her own garden features hanging baskets and containers, and is one of the gardens forming part of the internationally recognised Taranaki Rhododendron Festival.