This weekend saw the very first Edible Garden Show which was held at Stoneleigh, Nr Coventry and the weather certainly held for it. I wasn't sure what to expect with it being a brand new event, sometimes they can be slow to start and feel a little empty, this was not the case! We went on Sunday and arrived about midday and as we walked what did feel like quite a way to the event we were amazed at the amount of cars that were there. As soon as we showed our tickets and went in I was really pleased to see a hustle and bustle of people chattering, trying to get to the next stall or just simply asking questions!
I spoke to a few people whilst having a coffee (and resting the feet!) about what they thought and everyone we spoke to seemed so enthusiastic, the feedback we received for the next event was similar to our thoughts:
- Perhaps more stalls aimed at brand new gardeners or allotmenteers
- Some stalls needed more products to sell or be more interactive to encourage people to stop and look, buy or just ask questions
- More plants, there were hardly any plants available and I couldn't find many companion planting seed packets - there were some but not much variety and when I asked I was told to visit the website but I wanted to buy then. So I think a few sales could have been lost to that.
- Show gardens, where were they? Not one, I know it was an Edible Show, but come on I could design a beautiful potager to inspire people to be more creative in their garden!!
All in all it really was a great event and throughly enjoyable. I'm looking forward to next years' event now.
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