Rare plants and expert growers - The Plant Fair Roadshow is returning to Ramster this April.

The Plant Fairs Roadshow (PFR) is returning to Ramster Garden on Sunday, 26th April (10am – 3pm). Event highlights include a gathering of award-winning independent nurseries, access to rare and high-quality plants, expert growers eager to share their knowledge, and guided insights into plant care. Visitors can enjoy buying directly from nursery specialists and exploring Ramster’s spring woodland garden in full bloom.

This is no ordinary plant sale. Every plant has been raised by the nursery exhibiting it, meaning visitors can buy with confidence and learn everything they need to know from its roots up.

Entry to the Plant Fairs Roadshow is included in the Ramster Garden ticket. The event features speciality plant stalls and gardening advice. Ramster Garden is famous for its vibrant displays of rhododendrons, azaleas and bluebells in spring. Woodland paths wind through the 25-acre garden, with sculptures and natural carvings adding to the sense of discovery. Parking is free and the Tea House serves morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea, all based around a homemade menu of sweet and savoury options.

Who’s exhibiting

This year’s line-up includes National Collection holders, RHS Chelsea gold medallists and nurseries that have spent years propagating rare and specialist varieties. Here’s a taste of what to expect.

Cottage garden classics

Gransfield Plants celebrates British heritage varieties and the family histories behind them, while Swallowfields Nursery offers cottage favourites alongside unusual perennials and a growing collection of auriculas.

Rare and unusual

The No Name Nursery (Kent) is a big draw for collectors and the curious gardener. They hold four national plant collections: Persicaria virginiana cultivars, dark-leaved dahlias, Pseudopanax cultivars and Plectranthus.

Drought-tolerant and hardy

With British summers becoming increasingly unpredictable, several nurseries specialise in plants that can hold their own. Daisy Roots (Hertfordshire) offers a strong selection of perennials and ornamental grasses; Beechbridge Plants focuses on drought-tolerant perennials that are also brilliant for pollinators; Copton Ash specialises in alpines, Mediterranean-style plants and woodlanders; and Zophian Plants brings a unique collection of adaptable species perennials, many from the eastern Mediterranean, grown peat-free and trialled for drought resilience.

Shade and woodland

Moore and Moore specialises in plants for shade, woodland and clay soils, with a secondary focus on pollinator-friendly varieties. Hedgehog Plants, an award-winning Suffolk nursery, joins them with a strong range of shade-lovers, with a particular emphasis on Cornus and Epimediums. Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants not only grows a vast range of herbaceous perennials but breeds and propagates its own, their anemone ‘Frilly Knickers’ was awarded RHS Plant of the Year in 2020.

Exotic and architectural

Eleplants grows Southern hemisphere species including Grevillea, Proteas and Leptospermums, and Miles Japanese Maples offers more than 50 Acer palmatum cultivars in assorted sizes.

Climbers and wall shrubs

Roseland House Nursery, National Collection holders of Clematis viticella and Lapageria rosea cultivars, is ideal for visitors with walled gardens looking for something worth training. Pelham Plants Nursery, a Chelsea gold medal winner, rounds out this area with a strong range of hardy herbaceous perennials and grasses.

Bulbs and perennials

Riverside Bulbs covers spring and autumn flowering bulbs, while Phoenix Perennial Plants brings a broad range of hardy herbaceous varieties. Between them, they offer plenty of inspiration for replanting borders and naturalising garden areas.

Something different

Clare’s Chillies brings a fun and fiery addition to the line-up, over 30 years of growing experience in all five domesticated chilli species, with plants for every heat threshold.

These are just some of the growers you’ll find on the day. For practical garden accessories and tools, The Potting Shed offers a carefully chosen range of quality British-branded cutting tools, hand tools and watering equipment, while Branching Out designs bespoke obelisks, plant stakes, bows and boot racks. Wool Shred is also worth a visit, founded by a former shepherdess, it offers innovative and sustainable wool-based products for the garden, from mulch mats to hanging basket liners. And for expert growing advice paired with a range of garden products, Dan Cooper Garden Ltd, publisher of the widely read Frustrated Gardener blog is always worth a stop.

Tickets: Included in garden entry price, no pre-booking required.

• Adults £10

• Children: 5-16 years:  £3

• Under 5 free

• Registered disabled: £5