Silver Merit! Our Cherry Plum Pleached Trees Frame The Power of Pink Plants at BBC Gardeners' World Live 2026

Sandwiches packed, Malibu SPF spray on, Gen and Rachel headed up to sunny Brum. The first stop at BBC Gardeners' World Live was always going to be Samantha Stringer's showcase garden, The Power of Pink Plants. 

We'd watched Sammy bring it together throughout build week, but nothing quite prepares you for seeing a show garden finished. One minute it's a square of mud, pallets and lorry loads of plants. The next, it's a little slice of magic. Standing proudly behind a sea of pink were our Cherry Plum Pleached Trees (Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii'), their rich burgundy foliage framing the garden just as Sammy had imagined. It looked even better than we'd hoped.

From Pink Plants to Silver Merit

We'd already heard the exciting news before setting off. The day before, The Power of Pink Plants had been awarded Silver Merit, and seeing the finished garden in person only confirmed what the judges had seen. It was a thoroughly deserved recognition for a garden full of creativity, confidence and personality.

Designed by Samantha Stringer of In Sammy's Garden, The Power of Pink Plants celebrated exactly what its name promised: a joyful explosion of pink, layered with texture, movement and beautiful planting combinations that proved pink isn't just pretty, it's powerful.

Our Cherry Plum Pleached Trees framed the garden perfectly, their rich burgundy foliage creating the ideal backdrop for the colourful borders. It felt like a garden you'd genuinely want to come home to.

Monty Don, Frances Tophill and the BBC Film Crew

The day before our visit, Monty Don and Frances Tophill stopped by The Power of Pink Plants while filming the BBC Gardeners' World Live special for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Knowing one of Britain's best-loved gardening programmes had been filmed in a garden framed by our trees was a genuine pinch-yourself moment. It's not every day you see Monty and Frances admiring a garden framed by your trees, and we'll definitely treasure that memory.

If you missed the programme, it's now available on BBC iPlayer. Keep an eye out for The Power of Pink Plants around the 58-minute mark. We may have watched that bit once or twice already...

Inspiration Everywhere You Look

Of course, we didn't spend the whole day admiring our own trees. Well... not the whole day. One of the joys of BBC Gardeners' World Live is wandering around, catching up with old friends, meeting talented designers and coming home with far more ideas than you arrived with.

We were absolutely delighted to see Kate Patrick awarded Gold for The Folklorians Garden. Many of you may remember Kate from last year's The Nectary, where our Small-Leaved Lime Pleached Trees formed part of her beautiful design. Seeing her creativity recognised once again was wonderful and thoroughly deserved.

Another of our favourites was Sensed, Not Seen by Rebecca Williams. Designed to encourage visitors to experience a garden through the perspective of someone living with visual impairment, it was thoughtful, beautifully designed and quietly thought-provoking. It was one of those gardens that stayed with us long after we'd walked away.

Until Next Time...

Every flower show follows exactly the same pattern. You arrive convinced your garden is full, only to leave wondering where you can squeeze in another dozen plants. Looking at you, Foxy Bs foxgloves...

A huge thank you to Samantha Stringer for trusting Just Pleachy to supply the pleached trees for such a beautiful garden, and to everyone who stopped for a chat, admired the trees or simply shared their love of gardening with us over the weekend. It was a real pleasure meeting so many lovely people.

Events like BBC Gardeners' World Live remind us why we started Just Pleachy. Gardens bring people together, spark new ideas and encourage us to see our own outdoor spaces a little differently. Whether we're supplying trees for a Silver Merit show garden or helping someone transform their own garden at home, we're incredibly grateful to play a small part in those stories.

If The Power of Pink Plants has sparked a few ideas for your own garden, take a look at our collection of pleached trees, including the Cherry Plum Pleached Tree that helped frame this beautiful Silver Merit-winning garden.

Here's to more colourful gardens, inspiring people and finding just a little more room for one more plant for the garden. 🌸