Gardening in Rutland
This month’s Rutland Flower Show from 15th-17th August is sponsored by Gates Garden Centre, with special guest Adam Frost appearing at the event to explain why gardening is green-fingered therapy
Adam Frost is returning to Rutland this August as the special guest speaker at the Rutland Flower Show, and for many who follow his work—on television, on paper, or through the gardens he’s brought to life—it’s a moment well worth celebrating. This year, he brings with him more than just decades of experience in horticulture and garden design: he brings his soul, poured into his latest book, For the Love of Plants, published in March 2025.
Visitors to the show will find a speaker who is not only passionate about the technicalities of planting and design, but someone who treats gardening as a deeply emotional and personal process. Adam’s new book is more than a plant guide. It is, in his own words, ‘an album,’ and each chapter ‘a song on that album.’ That musical metaphor is no accident. “Just as music can drive emotions, connect people, and tell a story,” he says, “a garden has the ability to evoke a feeling, bring people together, and create wonderful memories.”
His affection for music is woven throughout the book, serving as a poignant narrative thread for his philosophy on gardening. “Ever since I can remember I have been drawn to music, even more so by lyrics, as words have a real impact on me. I can just listen to songs and make sense of what is being said.” It’s this combination of sensitivity, personal memory, and artistic rhythm that makes Adam’s approach so compelling—both in his gardens and in conversation.
Rutland audiences will be treated to a speaker who is unafraid to share the more vulnerable aspects of his journey. Adam speaks candidly about burnout and depression, revealing that during the lockdown period, when his wife and youngest daughter were unwell, he too reached a breaking point.
“I caught Covid and shut myself away for 10 days to quarantine,” he shares. “I started to feel disconnected, as if my life was unravelling. I spent a lot of time looking out of the window at the vast garden I’d created, and the only thing that comforted me was music.”
That difficult time became a catalyst for change. Following a diagnosis of burnout, Adam made the brave decision to downsize, physically and emotionally, moving to a much smaller home and garden. “It was like flipping a switch. Immediately, I started to connect with the space and create a new garden in what felt like a different world.” This shift in perspective—towards simplicity, reflection, and reconnection—forms the emotional core of For the Love of Plants.
In the book, Adam invites readers not only to plant with purpose, but to plant with feeling. He describes how the plants he’s chosen for his new garden are lifelong companions. “It’s a bit like making friends and keeping them for life; I know I can call on all of them, even if I haven’t spoken to them for years, and I’ll instantly have that old connection.”
Each plant carries a story: fuchsias and bedding plants remind him of his early days with North Devon Council’s Parks Department; succulents and agaves take him back to the bohemian garden of his ‘Scruffy Nan’ while the tidy, vegetable-laden borders of his other grandmother evoke memories of clipped lawns and clipped ties.
This emotional map of plants and memories reaches back to the formative years of his career. When he was just 21, Adam began working with the legendary garden broadcaster Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland—a name that still resonates strongly in local and national horticultural circles. “I had no idea then how ahead of the game he was,” Adam says. “I learnt all that I could from him; about our impact on our planet—the importance of using peat-free soil… organic gardening… and I started to wonder, what’s this all about then?”
Hamilton, he says, was a major influence—not just in shaping Adam’s techniques, but in setting the tone for how he approached life and design. “Geoff taught in such an understated way, but you always sensed his vast knowledge. He had a quiet confidence, but he was fun, too, with a bit of naughtiness about him.”
From Hamilton came the confidence to pursue design, and encouragement to train with the renowned landscape architect David Stevens. From that point, Adam launched a career that would take him to the heights of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, winning seven Gold Medals, and to national screens as a presenter on Gardeners’ World.
But his heart, it seems, has remained in the gardens of his past and in the smaller, quieter spaces of today. As part of his appearance at the Rutland Flower Show, Adam will reflect on these gardens, both literal and metaphorical, sharing stories not only of plants but of people, places, and life’s shifting rhythms. It’s a rare chance to hear from a designer whose personal journey has become inseparable from his work.
In his own garden, Adam says, even the smallest design decisions are made with an eye to how the space feels. “The way a bed is going to be viewed really drives the way you put things together… if I want it to feel like a wild hedgerow, for example”
His use of layers, groundcover, and careful underplanting reflect not just good practice, but a deep attentiveness to place and emotion. “Flowers will come and go, so varying greens, leaf shapes, and finishes play a big part. The differences don’t always have to be huge, even a subtle variation can be enough to draw your interest.”
It’s this delicate, thoughtful, deeply personal approach that Adam will bring with him to the Rutland Flower Show in August. He’s not just coming to speak—he’s coming to connect, and to encourage others to find their own connection with plants, just as he has.
Tickets for the Rutland Flower Show are available now at www.rutlandflowershow.co.uk. Adam’s talk is expected to be a highlight of the weekend, and signed copies of For the Love of Plants will be available at the show. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or someone just discovering the joys of plants, don’t miss this chance to hear from one of Britain’s most heartfelt horticulturists.
Read the full feature in our August edition, available now at https://www.pridemagazines.co.uk/rutland/view-magazines?magazine=August-2025.