12 cool things I spotted at the Garden Press Event 2022

Earlier this week, I attended the Garden Press Event in London, an event held exclusively for those in the gardening media – so I got a good peek at the exciting products that are both up-and-coming and available now from the most innovative brands in gardening!

Here are a handful of the most exciting products I came across – these would be handy for a whole host of garden types!

1. Turn your garden into a jungle of growth

This is Peruvian Seabird Guano fertilizer, which is a 100% Organic manure composed from the excrement of sea birds, found on islands near the Peruvian coast.  Rich, and full of goodness, available in pellet form, and is Organic Certified in the UK and across the world. I’m going to give it a go, and I expect full-on jungle growth! Buy online.

2. Take the load off those knees

The usual top quality you expect from Burgon & Ball, these look super comfy and would make me garden til dawn! A fantastic gift item, built to last, with memory foam. A stand out kneeler in the marketplace. Buy them here.

3. Go big with herbs

Supermarket herbs… we all buy them, but do they last more than two weeks? With herb food, you have the chance to keep them flourishing, with fresh growth and crazy re-growth. Whether parsley or coriander is your thing, you’ll have a glut on your hands before you can say ‘herb salad’! Find them in your local garden centre soon, or online at Amazon.

4. Make a home for local bats

Bats, and indeed moths, are often overlooked in our wildlife gardening tasks. Plant more moth-friendly, night blooming plants, and the bats will follow too. Here’s the perfect home for them, from the team at Vivara.

5. Replace plastic with fabric

These are inspired, lightweight, flexible, flat-pack too. Use them long-term for patio displays, with the knowledge that you can eventually compost them, or plant them into the soil. Commercial nurseries will love these for shrubs and small trees, making them easier to transplant into your garden at home. Buy them here.

6. Protect lilies without impacting pollinators

Prevention is much better than cure… and that applies to gardening and growing too. The Grazers range coats the plant with a protection film, which dissuades any predator, rather than harm it. An interesting, and inspiring, range – find it online here.

7. The no-brainer solution to overwatering and avoiding patio stains

How often do you lift your patio pot at the end of the season, and there’s a mucky stain on your deck or concrete? UGH! Avoid that with this nifty pot-riser, which also helps drainage. Find a stockist here.

8. Get the F1 look while saving the planet

I remember my grandma used to have a tyre turned inside out and used as a container for alpines. 30 years later, I am seeing the same concept, from the team at Maryland. I rather fancy these filled with a few Med herbs. Get yours online here.

9. Microgreens are getting bigger (figuratively)

The range for micro greens is expanding all the time, and I am even partial to a few sweet ones – try out Agastache sometime, if you can! Cress has come a long way since those green haired eggheads; nowadays they could even have a ginger bob hairstyle! Find these in most garden centres.

10. Plastic-free seed trays

The star of the show, and it indeed won an award! Get yours here.

11. Turning composting on its head

How do you compost if you only have a balcony? Well, here’s your answer! Speed up the creation of compost, which you can then use for mulch or top-dressing established plants. In garden centres, or online here.

12. Must-have wildlife accessories

This bird feeder is the best squirrel-proof type yet… with perches that drop down with the weight of squirrels or heavier birds. As the perch drops down, it also pulls down a little door, which shuts off the feeder to the big and the greedy. So clever – get it now from Vivara.