The Folklorians Garden — Build Diary (2026)
Planning for The Folklorians Garden began for Kate on her drive home from Gardeners’ World Live 2025. Still buzzing from creating The Nectary, inspiration struck at 3am in a service station on the M6. With a scrap of paper and a head full of ideas, the first threads of The Folklorians Garden took shape, and Kate quickly shared them with her team. What followed were months of research, design work, sponsor conversations and the careful sourcing of materials. This diary captures the on‑site build of The Folklorians Garden at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2026.
Thursday 4 June
The first plant deliveries arrived on site, along with the corten steel edging from EverEdge.
Friday 5 June
Our first full team day on site. More plants arrived, and we began building the steel rings that form the structure of the garden.
Saturday 6 June
The steel was set in place, the hardcore went down, and hard landscaping began. Laying the cobbles commenced.
Sunday 7 June
Cobbles completed — a huge milestone.
Monday 8 June
Roses were collected from Peter Beales, benches were installed, and the beds were lined with Hortiwool.
Tuesday 9 June
Willow weaving began under the guidance of Claire from Warwickshire Willow. The first load of compost was added to the beds, and more plants were delivered.
Wednesday 10 June
More plants arrived, and the willow weaving continued.
Thursday 11 June
Through the downpours we wove, soaked to the skin but by the end of the day, the beautiful willow structure that envelopes The Folklorians Garden was complete.
Friday 12 June
A morning of organising plants, tidying our work and storage space and preparing for the big push ahead. We sourced a new Rowan tree to better fit the space — and managed to fit it into a Nissan Micra to get it to site. The afternoon was spent on admin: progressing the website and adding finishing touches to our Botanical Grimoire.
Saturday 13 June
A huge day: plant placement. Hours of moving, adjusting, stepping back, and finding the rhythm of the planting. The roses were planted.
Sunday 14 June
The Rowan tree was potted, and we planted — and planted — and planted, until we could plant no more. And still, there was more to do.
Monday 15 June
More plants arrived, including the most magnificent Salvias we’ve ever seen, delivered by Rob from the Malvern Salvia Collection. Planting was completed. We helped another team while our garden settled after watering, then returned to tidy the site, top‑dress the beds, begin placing the moss, and welcome the arrival of our water feature from Paul the Coppersmith.
Tuesday 16 June
We swept the cobbles and added the final layer of self‑binding gravel. Top‑dressing was completed, every plant was checked and adjusted, the moss was laid, and the benches were cleaned and oiled. We ended with a final team hug before heading home for a well‑earned night’s sleep.
Tomorrow the garden will be assessed, and the show will open with Press Day before welcoming the public from Friday. Whatever the outcome, we are proud and happy. The garden is exactly the space Kate imagined in that motorway service station twelve months ago — beautiful, meaningful, and full of love. We hope you enjoy it too, whether you see it in person or online.
Uncover the story of the garden, the team behind it and a plant list
Folklore and our gardens
Explore the folklore associated with our gardens, from Wishing Trees to Wild & Whimsical Woodlands, Magical Menageries and more.
Read more here
The folklore of the plants in our gardens
Plants have always carried stories just beneath their leaves, quiet threads of myth and meaning woven into the everyday borders we walk past.
Explore the space where plants meet folklore, and the familiar becomes just a little more enchanted.
The Team
The Folklorians Garden has been shaped by a dedicated team of makers, growers and storytellers, supported by small independent UK businesses whose craft and generosity helped bring this vision to life — meet the people behind the garden here.
Plant List
The Folklorians Garden is shaped by plants chosen for their character, their quiet usefulness to wildlife, and the threads of story they carry with them.
Explore a list that gathers every species and cultivar in the garden, setting out their form, scale and presence so visitors can understand how each one contributes to the woodland‑edge atmosphere.
The Folklorians Garden @ BBC Gardeners World Live 2026
Planning for The Folklorians Garden began for Kate on her drive home from Gardeners’ World Live 2025. Still buzzing from creating The Nectary, inspiration struck at 3am in a service station on the M6. With a scrap of paper and a head full of ideas, the first threads of The Folklorians Garden took shape, and Kate quickly shared them with her team. What followed were months of research, design work, sponsor conversations and the careful sourcing of materials.
