BBC Gardeners World Live
18-21 June, Birmingham NEC
Trains in the Garden, Supporting Greenfingers Charity
Designed by Andy & Louise Christie
Sponsored by: British Garden Centres, Severn Valley Railway, Brunel Models, Garden Railway Specialists, Footplate, Thrive, CJS Heritage Engineering, Trains in The Garden, Garden Rail Magazine, Black Cat Bridges and Cross Country Trains.
All aboard for a gentle journey through a garden designed to calm, delight and inspire.
Designed by Andy & Louise Christie, Trains in the Garden, Supporting Greenfingers Charity, brings timeless charm to life, with winding tracks leading visitors through richly layered planting filled with texture, colour and quiet discovery. As the train moves through the landscape, it creates a sense of rhythm and unfolding adventure, encouraging visitors to slow down, look closer and reconnect with the restorative power of the outdoors.
While conceived as a standalone creative vision, the garden’s atmosphere and storytelling beautifully reflect the work of Greenfingers Charity. Just as the train journeys through moments of beauty and tranquillity, Greenfingers gardens offer children with life-limiting conditions and their families places of comfort, connection and escape within children’s hospices across the UK.
The movement of the train symbolises journeys of all kinds, sometimes uncertain, often challenging, yet always moving forward with hope. Through thoughtful planting and playful nostalgia, the garden captures the essence of what Greenfingers strives to create: safe, uplifting spaces where families can spend precious time together and create lasting memories.
From the surrounding pathways, visitors are invited to pause, reflect and immerse themselves in a garden designed with care, compassion and imagination at its heart, a gentle reminder of the extraordinary power gardens have to soothe, uplift and inspire.
About the designers
Louise and Andy Christie live in Bournville and share a passion for gardening. Andy’s love of trains began in childhood and led him to start volunteering with the Severn Valley Railway at the age of 14, cleaning engines as the first step in his railway career. He has now spent the past eight years instructing train driving both on the mainline and at the Severn Valley Railway. Louise grew up on the east coast of Spain in a family of keen gardeners, inspiring her love of plants and outdoor spaces, and she has recently launched her own gardening business.
The Plants
The planting scheme for Trains in the Garden, supporting Greenfingers Charity, has been carefully curated to reflect the charm, nostalgia and tranquillity of the railway journey at the heart of the design. Richly layered with alpines, dwarf conifers, bonsai specimens, wildflowers, grasses and aquatic planting, the garden combines texture, movement and seasonal colour to create a landscape filled with discovery and imagination.
From miniature trees and structural planting that evoke a timeless railway setting, to soft naturalistic planting and vibrant seasonal displays that bring warmth and energy to the scene, every plant has been selected to enhance the garden’s atmosphere of calm, adventure and reflection. Together, the planting creates an immersive environment that celebrates the restorative power of gardens and the joy they can bring to children, families and visitors alike.
The planting scheme includes the following:
- Alpines: Crassula sarcocaulis, Erodium reichardii (Alpine Geranium), Frankenia thymifolia (Thyme-leaved Sea Heath), Helianthemum ‘Rock Rose’ (various colours)
- Bonsai Collection: Chinese Elm, Japanese Holly, Hedge Honeysuckle ‘Lemon Beauty’, Japanese Umbrella Pine, Lawson’s Cypress, Boxleaf Honeysuckle, Japanese Pieris ‘Little Heath’, White Spruce, Hebe buxifolia, Italian Stone Pine, Alberta Spruce
- Dwarf Conifers: Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’, Picea glauca ‘Alberta Globe’, Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’, Pinus mugo ‘Flanders Belle’, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Elwood’s Gold’, Picea glauca ‘Rainbow’s End’, Podocarpus nivalis ‘Kilworth Cream’, Picea abies ‘Wild Strawberry’
- Dwarf Shrubs: Hebe ‘James Stirling’, Paronychia Kapela,
- Perennials & Rock Planting: Saxifraga ‘Little Pixie’, Sedum lydium; Soleirolia soleirolii ‘Mind-your-own-business’; Thymus lanuginosus; Thymus serpyllum, English Lavender, Berberis thunbergii ‘Bagatelle’, Rose ‘Desdemona’, Rose ‘Sir John Betjeman’
- Trees & Structural Planting: Multi-stemmed Silver Birch, Mature Buddleia
- Grasses: Foxtail Grass, Cock’s-foot Grass
- Ferns: Athyrium filix-femina ‘Lady Fern’, Dryopteris dilatata
- Heathers: Erica carnea ‘Myretoun Ruby’, Calluna varieties
- Wildflowers & Naturalistic Planting: Raoulia australis (Scab Weed), Hedera helix (Ivy), Foxgloves (mixed colours), Common Poppies, Great Mullein, Rosebay Willowherb
- Aquatic Planting: Frogbit, Duckweed, Water Lilies, Water Violet, Marginal pond planting,
- Along with: Calibrachoa Million Bells Trailing White, Lobelia erinus, Petunia ‘Vista Bubblegum’, Petunia ‘Trailing Surfinia’
Please note: Plant varieties and quantities are subject to availability and may change prior to the show.
Thank You
We would like to thank the wonderful Andy & Louise Christie, the BBC Gardeners' World Live team, along with all sponsors and supporters, for helping make Trains in the Garden, supporting Greenfingers Charity, possible.