BBC TV’s award-winning gardening presenter James Wong has signed up to The Edible Garden Show.

The popular gardener who was a major success at this year’s launch event has signed a two-year deal with organisers to write an exclusive monthly column with gardening tips and recipes for The Edible Garden Show’s popular website and he will give a series of daily talks at the 2012 and 2013 shows.

Bev Channell, Event Director for The Edible Garden Show, said: "We are delighted that James Wong has agreed to join our team. He was a big hit at this year’s show where he packed out our Experts’ Theatre and we’ve had lots of requests from the public asking us to ensure James is at our future shows."

Passionate gardener James, who entertained visitors with fascinating talks on "Incredible Edibles" said: "The Edible Garden Show is a great concept. It’s high time that Grow Your Own enthusiasts had their own dedicated national show and the success of the launch event demonstrates how much interest there is among the public. I’m sure the show is going to grow in popularity and I am pleased to be part of the team."

James added: "My talks on exotic fruits and vegetables were really well received and next year I plan to give two different talks each day which I hope will be both entertaining and informative."

James is on a mission to tempt "grow your owners" into becoming a bit more adventurous. He will be giving planting ideas and seasonal advice throughout the year on The Edible Garden Show website www.thediblegardenshow.co.uk along with recipes for his exotic harvest.

The botanist, gardener, designer, broadcaster and natural remedies obsessive says: "I want to create a fresh guide to cool stuff to grow, appealing to everyone from plant geeks to horticultural virgins alike. Growing your own can be so much more cutting edge than people think. It doesn’t have to be all about cabbage and caulis – there is a tantalising treasure chest of rare and exotic edibles perfectly capable of surviving and flourishing in the UK climate."

James, who won a prestigious Gold Medal at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show for the garden he co-designed for the Malaysian Tourist Board, will be appearing each day in the Experts’ Theatre at The Edible Garden Show from 16-18 March 2012.

A qualified Ethnobotanist, James trained at the University of Kent and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew before travelling the world in search of natural remedies. His research has taken him to Ecuador, South China and Indonesia.

Since starting work in television in 2008, he has brought his botanical expertise to such hit programmes as BBC Countryfile, Gardeners' World and James Wong and The Malaysian Garden, as well as fronting his own award-winning show BBC’s Grow Your Own Drugs, which brought plant-based remedies to a whole new audience. He has written two bestselling books based on his popular TV series.

The Edible Garden Show 2012 promises to be bigger and better than the launch event which attracted nearly 11,000 visitors. More than half of the exhibitors at the inaugural show have already signed up for next year.

From bees, chickens, goats and pigs to seeds, sheds, wellies and wormeries – there is something for everyone including an incredible range of innovative and exciting products for grow your own fans. The show will boast an additional exhibition hall, enlarged animal marquee and food areas, tips from a wide range of gardening experts, cookery demonstrations and interactive displays.

For exhibitor or sponsorship details contact Channell Events on 0845 270 6800. For more information about the show visit: www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk

For information about growing weird and wonderful crops in the UK go to www.jameswong.co.uk

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