Gardeners’ World presenter to lead tours of new garden at community festival

Guided tours of a tasty new garden and the first public reading of a special poem are two of the highlights of the University of Leicester’s Community Festival at the Botanic Garden.

The ticket-only event, which takes place on Sunday 6 September, will see Garden Director, and BBC Gardeners’ World presenter, Nick Bailey, take visitors around his new horticultural creation.

The World Food Garden is a glorious, verdant celebration of the origins of the planet’s favourite edible plants. Laid out across a quarter of an acre, the garden is divided into 12 beds each representing different regions of the world.

Nick said: “You can stroll over to the Japanese beds and find hardy lemons, ginger, soya and rice basking in the summer sun. Or take a trip to the Indian subcontinent – with so many delicious food plants originating from there we've dedicated two huge beds to them with everything from black pepper and mango to lemon grass, chickpeas and succulent climbing spinach.

“The new garden truly embodies the rich diversity of the people of Leicester and aims to show how food can bring us all together.”

Tickets for the tour are strictly limited and must be booked in advance. World Food Garden Tickets are only available to festival ticketholders. Please book your festival ticket before booking onto the tours.

The day will also see poet and author, Tim Relf, share his reflections from his time as the Poet-in-Residence at the Botanic Garden, in 2023. The highlight of his talk will be his first public reading of a poem he wrote, inspired by one of the garden’s iconic attractions, the Desert House. Tim’s talk will also explore nature writing, offer practical writing tips, highlight contemporary authors to discover, and provide an insider's guide to getting a book published.

Tim said: “I was so lucky to spend a year as poet-in-residence at the Botanic Garden. It really gave me an opportunity to learn more about plants and the natural world. It’s such a beautiful place, full of so many interesting plants and trees, that it was a constant source of poetic inspiration.

“I met so many interesting people at the garden and my poem, Desert House, was inspired by one such encounter. A woman who’d grown up in South Africa was so reminded of that country by the sights and smells she encountered in the Desert House that she started crying the moment she entered it. It was a very moving moment.”

Taking place between 11am and 4pm on Sunday 6 September, the festival offers a packed programme of events within the gardens and the historic Beaumont House, bringing together local performers, traders and food vendors.

All of the attractions can be found on the website, with highlights including:

• Great British Bake Off finalist and University chemist, Dr Josh Smalley, alongside Dr Rachel Small from University of Leicester Archaeological Services, for a fascinating talk about Leicestershire's brewing heritage
• Children's activities including a mini professors drop-in workshop for 5-11 year olds, free face painting and mini golf
• A mini market and local food vendors
• Steel and brass band performances and a DJ.

The Community Festival at the Botanic Garden is sponsored by Rockstar Promotions and is open to everyone. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available now, with prices starting from £1 and free admission for children under five.

For more information and tickets, visit the event page.