Thursday
The Hive
19:00
Matthew Symonds is a city gardener in Bristol where he has transformed a once concrete and weed-infested small yard (just 18ft x 21ft) into a lush urban oasis. In 2009 with some friends and neighbours, he launched the Bedminster's Secret Gardens open weekend.
In the first year, nine people opened their small city gardens for people to visit. This year (2025), nearly 40 gardens will be opening - making it one of the largest urban garden trails in the country.
Matthew also helps organise the greater Bedminster Good Front Garden Awards - now covering over 500 streets, the awards are a celebration of local gardening - a 'thank-you to everyone whose front gardens (even those with no gardens - it includes balconies, window boxes and hanging baskets) make a positive contribution to the local streets. Since 2004 over 50,000 Good Front Garden Awards have been given out.
In 2022 Matthew's garden was a runner-up in the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Garden of the Year competition, and in 2023, he won the B&Q Gardener of the Year competition.