BEE there or be square

Pollinators will take centre stage at the Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival this September, with buzzing bee safaris and garden tours through beautiful borders. Across the three-day line-up, you’ll find talks, panel discussions and workshops that shine a light on the brilliant biodiversity right under our noses and how we can find ways to help it all thrive.

Expect a hive of activity across the festival as we welcome a line-up of experts, ready to share their passion for bees, blooms and everything wild and wonderful in between.

Friday 19th ‘People & Pollinators’ theme will bring the biggest buzz, with a stand-out cast of speakers who know their way around a wildlife-friendly garden, all ready to celebrate the plants, people and pollinators that make our gardens come to life.

Kate Bradbury, wildlife author, gardening guru and bee champion, will help us all turn our plots and pots into pollinator paradises. Her work as a patron of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and ambassador with Butterfly Conservation have inspired gardeners to rewild their spaces - one small, pollinator-friendly action at a time.

Hugh Frost, wildlife gardener and pest-management expert, will share practical advice on creating balanced ecosystems without the need for chemicals in your garden. Georgie Newbery, flower farmer at the brilliant Common Farm Flowers in Somerset, will join us to show how floristry can be both beautiful and sustainable - flower farming with pollinators in mind. Garden writer, Alys Fowler will explore how perennial veg and edible planting can support insects, feeding both people and pollinators alike.

There will be plenty of science too! We’ll be joined by Professor Daniel Robert and Dr Heather Whitney from the University of Bristol, whose cutting-edge research explores how bees use electric fields to find flowers! It’s fascinating stuff and a reminder of just how sophisticated these tiny creatures are.

Don’t miss Jean Vernon, award-winning author and bee advocate whose garden tours offer a rare window into the miniature marvels that visit our plants and flowers. She’ll be leading Bee Safaris across the Yeo Valley Organic Garden for those who want to get up close with their garden’s smallest visitors.

Rounding up the petal power line-up is Richard Rickitt, award-winning author and co-editor of BeeCraft magazine. With more than 20 years of beekeeping experience, Richard blends science and storytelling to help you make your garden a haven for pollinators. 

The festival boasts a line-up of inspiring insect stories and nature-friendly gardening ideas, packed with hands-on advice to make your garden both beautiful and beneficial to the creatures that call it home.

You’ll never look at your pots and plants in quite the same way again!