Head Gardener Harry Hoblyn shares his highlights from Festival of the Garden 2025

With Festival of the Garden just around the corner (17 – 20 July), the Charleston team are in full swing. Head Gardener and fringe programmer Harry Hoblyn offers a sneak peek at what’s in store.

This year’s Festival of the Garden explores how gardens can be spaces for resistance and restoration. Which talks or events do you think best embody that theme?

I can’t wait to hear the gardener and writer Alys Fowler (in conversation with Claire Ratinon) talking about her new book, Peatlands. The most restorative acts (such as garden composting) are often found in the most unexpected of realms. I am intrigued to hear Alys talking about her exploration of bogs and how they could be so pivotal in helping to preserve our planet.

The fringe programme offers hands-on sessions and practical advice, what gardening skills or techniques can visitors expect to learn this year?

Visitors can expect to learn about all things invertebrate. Bee expert Benny Hawksbee will be talking about how to garden for insect diversity and the captivating naturalist, Michael Blencowe, offers fun, engaging and affordable workshops for both adults and children. Knowledgeable nursery owners, such as Steve Edney and Paul Seaborn, will kick off the fringe each morning with a plant showcase to display some of their favourite high summer flowers. Visitors are also encouraged to attend our free forum series where we will delve into topics, such as rewilding, machine gardening and land workers’ rights.

The main festival programme features garden designers to growers – who are you excited about and are doing innovative things in horticulture/design/gardening?

Sometimes it is the people who learn the old ways that bring the most innovative practices to our attention. Paul Lamb, known as the West Country Hedgelayer, and Ben Short, a charcoal burner and woodsman, are two of these characters and I am looking forward to hearing them discuss how they have used ancient skills to develop their crafts. Jamie Butterworth is one of the country’s youngest commercial nursery growers and I am intrigued to hear how his plant focused approach influences his garden creations. As a gardener, I am also looking forward to hearing from Jo Mckerr and Colin Stewart as they discuss the craft of gardening. In an age of instant gratification, I am increasingly aware that it is through the patient process of observation and edit that we can best guide our landscapes and gardens and I can think of no better advocates to bring back appreciation for the crafty gardener than these two thoughtful speakers.

Hollyhocks at Charleston, Festival of the Garden 2023; photography by Lewis Ronald

For those looking forward to exploring the walled garden this year, what seasonal highlights or new additions to your planting should they look out for?

Hollyhocks are no new thing in the garden at Charleston, however, I would be remiss not to mention them as they begin to hit their July peak. I hope visitors enjoy the small but colourful vegetable and flower garden which our new gardener, Tom, has been focusing his attentions on this season; a haven of towering cardoons, self-sown pollinating plants, and Mediterranean-style herbs and vegetables. Look out for the rambling squashes heading over the wall! From my point of view, I am increasingly interested in how we as gardeners can keep our plants flourishing in what appear to be increasingly dry growing seasons. In the walled (cottage) garden we grow a range of annuals to prolong the growing season and its therefore inevitable that there may be some ‘gappier’ moments in the garden; sometimes I feel that gardening is about embracing these moments. I am also trying to embrace the browns (the disintegrating apples, the scraps of quaking grass, and poppies gone to seed) – reminiscent of the dock-laden verge adjoining the main car park – but now is the time to begin that slow edit.

Charleston’s garden has long been a place of artistic inspiration – are there any events this year that particularly celebrate the link between art and the natural world?

All art – whether it be painting, gardening, music, writing – is inspired by the natural world. I am always interested to hear how our folk music traditions make specific reference to the natural world (often in a form or language not known to us today) and I hope to gain some further examples of this when listening to the iconic Peggy Seeger (in conversation) and attending the Lost Folk event on Sunday evening.

Festival of the Garden 2022; photography by James Bellorini

If you’d like to join us for Festival of the Garden , the main event tickets for our talks and events programme in The Yard range from £10–18, and day tickets start from £60 and include tickets to all main stage events that day. We also have a range of daily fringe events taking place in the Orchard, free and open to all.