Kickstart spring at Toby's Garden Festival

Now in its 9th year, Toby’s Garden Festival, hosted by BBC gardener Toby Buckland, is an unmissable two days for gardeners and foodies, with over 160 exhibitors, including award-winning Chelsea Flower Show plant nurseries, plus art and craft, garden furniture, outdoor kitchens and buildings.

New for 2023 is the Food Drink Devon Market showcasing local producers, with talks and tastings on wine, cider, cheese and more, hosted by The Daily Telegraph’s wine guru, Susy Atkins, and food writer Mark Diacono of Otter Farm. Festival sponsor Wickham’s will be offering free wine tastings, with a chance to try and buy a range of wine from vineyards in Devon, England and beyond.

BBC Gardener’s World garden designer, Joe Swift will be sharing his tips on getting the most from your garden in the Speaker’s Marquee. It’s one of three talks programs, where you can hear talks and demos on a range of topics, including flower farming, keeping chickens, planting a wildflower meadow and growing organic fruit and veggies.

Other attractions include stone balancing, book signings, outdoor kitchen tastings, tree climbing, stilt walkers, a miniature steam railway, heritage wood crafts and animals, including alpaca and chickens. Plus, you can make your own flower crown to wear at the fest with help from the British Academy of Flower Arts.

Head to Feast Street to grab a bite from one of 15 curated local street food producers and enjoy lunch sitting in the sunshine by the Castle lake while listening to live music from talented local musicians.

Visit in style at the VIP Experience, sponsored by Hawksmoor Investment Management, which grants all-day access to the 14th century castle’s stunning Music Room (as featured in Remains of the Day) with morning coffee and cake, a buffet lunch and afternoon tea, with a glass of fizz.

Fri 28 - Sat 29 April, advance tickets £13.50 from www.tobygardenfest.co.uk (children under 16 free except VIP tickets); dogs on leads welcome.