Pippa Greenwood and Stewart Garden plan second UK tour from March to May 2013

Stewart Garden, the gardening products division of UK manufacturer, Stewart, and Pippa Greenwood have announced dates for a second tour of UK garden centres. Eight dates throughout March, April and May 2013 have been confirmed. The tour follows the successful series of visits to centres across the country earlier this year.

The tour is part of Stewart Garden’s partnership with the regular broadcaster, columnist and grow your own specialist which commenced in 2011.

Motivated by increasing food prices, more and more people are opting to grow their own fruit and vegetables. The trend shows no sign of slowing down.

Even people who don’t have gardens can enjoy the benefits of grow your own. An amazing range can be grown on a balcony or a small back yard.

Throughout the tour, Pippa Greenwood will explain the principles of grow your own and give practical demonstrations of potting, creating growing beds and propagation. Comprehensive information sheets written by Pippa and complementing the demonstrations will also be available to visitors.

2013 tour dates confirmed are:

• Thursday 7 March: Ruxley Garden Centre, Maidstone Road, Sidcup, Kent
• Thursday 11 April: Squires Garden Centre, Sixth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex
• Thursday 18 April: Thetford Garden Centre, Kilverstone, Thetford, Norfolk
• Thursday 25 April: Trago Mills, Trago Mills Liverton Newton Abbot, Devon 
• Thursday 9 May: Houghton Hall Garden Centre, Houghton, Carlisle
• Wednesday 15 May: Wentworth Garden Centre, Hague Lane, Wentworth, Rotherham, S Yorkshire
• Thursday 23 May: High Legh Garden Centre, High Legh, Knutsford, Cheshire

Speaking of the upcoming tour, Pippa said, “The popularity of last year’s tour proved that there’s a big demand for grow your own products, information and advice. We met many people who want to increase their knowledge and develop their skills. Stewart Garden’s product range demonstrates its strong commitment to these customers. Together we can help gardeners across the country grow great vegetables and have fun while saving money.”

Visitors wishing to attend Pippa Greenwood’s appearances should contact the garden centres direct. More information about the tour will appear on Pippa Greenwood’s Stewart Garden blog at www.stewart-garden.co.uk/blog.

For more information about Stewart Garden, visit www.stewart-garden.co.uk.

For more information about Pippa Greenwood and ‘Grow Your Own with Pippa Greenwood’, visit www.pippagreenwood.com.

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Editor’s notes:

2013 Tour details:

Thursday 7 March: Ruxley Garden Centre, Maidstone Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 5BQ 
Tel: 020 8300 0084, www.ruxley-manor.co.uk

Thursday 14 March: Palmers Garden Centre, St John’s, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 2BS
Tel: 0116 286 3323, www.palmersgardencentre.co.uk

Thursday 11 April: Squires Garden Centre, Sixth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 5PA
Tel: 020 8977 9241, www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk

Thursday 18 April: Thetford Garden Centre, Kilverstone, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2RL
Tel: 01842 763267, www.thetfordgardencentre.co.uk

Thursday 25 April: Trago Mills, Trago Mills Liverton Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 6JD
Tel: 01626 821111, www.trago.co.uk

Thursday 9 May: Houghton Hall Garden Centre, Houghton, Carlisle, CA6 4JB
Tel: 01228 400610, www.klondyke.co.uk/houghton-hall-garden-centre-carlisle

Wednesday 15 May: Wentworth Garden Centre, Hague Lane, Wentworth, Rotherham, S Yorkshire
Tel: 01226 744842, www.wentworthgardencentre.co.uk

Thursday 23 May: High Legh Garden Centre, High Legh, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 0QW
Tel: 01925 756991, www.klondyke.co.uk/high-legh-garden-centre-knutsford

Pippa Greenwood

Pippa Greenwood trained as a botanist at Durham University (BSc hons) and then gained an MSc in Crop Protection at Reading University. In 2007, Pippa was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science (DSc) by the University of Durham for her work in gardening and its science. 

In 1985 she joined the staff of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden at Wisley in Surrey, where she ran the Plant Pathology Department, answering several thousand queries from gardeners every year.

In 1988, Pippa began working for the BBC, joining Alan Titchmarsh for the gardening slot on BBC 1’s Daytime Live.

From 1989 until 2002, she was a regular presenter on BBC 2’s Gardeners’ World, presenting many items on garden pests and diseases, science and gardening, as well as creating and running her organic kitchen garden from her own Hampshire garden. 

Pippa is a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, travelling the length and breadth of the country to present the programme throughout the year. In 2000, 2001 and 2002 Pippa presented her own series, Growing Science on Radio 4. For several years Pippa hosted BBC Radio Solent’s Topsoil with Pippa Greenwood, a three-hour gardening and music show.

Pippa has guested on a number of television and radio programmes including Tomorrow’s World, You and Yours, Woman’s Hour, BBC Breakfast, This Morning, GMTV, Breakaway, Grass Roots and Call my Bluff.  She was a judge for the BBC Gardener of The Year competition in 2001.

Pippa was the gardening consultant for the ITV murder mystery series, Rosemary and Thyme starring Pam Ferris and Felicity Kendal, advising on the gardening sub-plot and other plant related matters, and the gardening personalities of the two actresses!

Pippa has several regular writing commitments including BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, and a monthly page in ‘NFU Countryside Magazine’.

For 18 years Pippa was the gardening columnist for The Mirror newspaper. Pippa writes a blog for BBC Gardeners’ World Website and has her own website, www.pippagreenwood.com. Here she writes a gardening blog and offers ‘Grow Your Own with Pippa Greenwood’ (garden ready vegetable plants plus weekly advice emails), a garden advice service called ‘Ask Pippa’, and a range of grow  your own related products,.

Pippa has written many books including the bestsellers, New Gardener (in excess of one and a quarter million copies sold), Gardening Hints and Tips, Garden Pests and Diseases, Garden Problem Solver, Flower Gardener, Pippa’s Organic Kitchen Garden, A Garden for All Seasons, Pippa Greenwood’s Gardening Year and 1001 Ways To Be  A Better Gardener. She co-authored The Gardeners’ Question Time book. Her latest book is A Gardener’s Calendar.

Pippa lectures, hosts gardening tours and gives gardening-related demonstrations across the UK and abroad.

Pippa lives in Hampshire where she gardens on a windswept hillside with a strongly alkaline, heavy-clay soil. 

www.pippagreenwood.com offers ‘Grow Your Own with Pippa Greenwood’ and a range of grow-your-own-related products.

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Stewart - backgrounder

Stewart is the UK market leader in the manufacture and supply of technical plastic moulded products for the gardening, home and professional catering sectors. The company offers an extensive portfolio of products ranging from garden planters and propagators, to food containers and specialist storage products. Three specialist divisions also work across the aerospace, automotive and medical industries.

The company employs 70 permanent staff and 30 seasonal workers at a purpose-built 178,000 sq ft facility in Banbury, Oxon, which opened in September 2012. The factory and distribution centre includes state of the art machinery giving Stewart a world class advantage over its UK competitors.

It enjoyed a turnover of £13 million in 2010.  

Stewart is headed by CEO Richard Butler who built his career in the technical plastics and rubber sector and has worked for leading manufacturers in the aerospace and automotive sector.

Originally established in 1945 the company was the subject of a BIMBO (buy-in/ management buyout) in June 2011.  ECI, the mid-market private equity specialist, invested £12 million in the company in a deal that valued the business at £17 million.

Stewart Garden produces grow your own products, watering, pots, propagators and garden accessories and sundries. These are available in over 1600 outlets across the UK and Eire including major DIY outlets such as Homebase and Wilkinsons and garden centres across the UK such as Dobbies and Klondyke/Strikes, The Garden Centre Group and some 600 plus independent garden centres.

Stewart Garden plays an active role in the gardening and leisure industry through its membership of:

• GIMA – the Garden Industry Manufacturers Association
• Gardenex – the Federation of Garden and Leisure Manufacturers Limited
• HTA – the Horticultural Trades Association

Stewart won the House Beautiful Best Product Garden Category in 2005 and the Klondyke Dry Goods Supplier Award in 2010. The company was a GIMA Awards - POS Finalist in 2009, and Best of British Finalist in 2011. It’s Heat and Grow Thermostatic Propagator was top in the Which? Gardening Best Buy test on windowsill propagators 2011.

Stewart Home provides food storage and homewares products. These comprise of the Refine, Essentials and Seal Fresh food and drink storage collections, offering hygienic storage in a wide range of colours and shapes.

Stewart Catering supplies the Gastronorm and Seal Fresh food storage ranges to the catering industry and specialist cook shops via wholesale and cash and carry outlets.

Other Stewart divisions are:

Stewart Aerospace

Stewart Automotive

Stewart Medical

Each division of Stewart is BS ISO 9001-2000 and TS16949 accredited and operates from the company’s manufacturing, warehousing and distribution centre in Banbury, Oxon.

For more information visit www.stewartlimited.co.uk

For editorial enquiries, pictures, interviews and samples, contact Emma De Maio on 07921 160 134 or Maria Bretti on 07854 819 213 email or emma@redheadpr.co.uk or maria@redheadpr.co.uk