Food & Drink
31 March 2015
Main image: Sarah Mead, Head Gardener at Yeo Valley Organic Garden
After a sell-out year, The Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival (17-19 September) is back for 2026!
Where you’re an expert gardener, a budding enthusiast or a curious novice, you’ll get the chance to dig into the future of gardening and leave with a head buzzing with all the projects that could take root in your own garden.
Across the three days you’ll hear from brilliant speakers like Arit Anderson, Poppy Okotcha, Arthur Parkinson, Frances Tophill, John Little and bee specialist Dave Goulson – real experts sharing their earth-friendly secrets in plain English.
During panel chats top gardeners will swap secrets, share fails and dish the dirt on what really works, as well as sharing the next big things in the gardening world.
Each day has its own flavour; Thursday is all biodiversity and climate resilience, Friday is about colour and creativity in the garden and Saturday is more of a practical, hands-on, ‘how do I actually do this?’ day.
Whichever day you come, you’ll be walking round a real, lived-in organic garden, not a show garden built for a weekend and torn down afterwards.
Click here to get your tickets to Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival 2026.
In addition to the talks and panels, you can look forward to Bee Safaris, live art from resident artist Natasha Clutterbuck, music and plenty of delicious food.
You’ll be able to adventure through the 6.5 acres of organic garden, and explore everything from the blooming lovely meadow and gravel garden to a lush veg patch. Handpicked experts, as well as the garden’s very own gardening team, will guide you around the garden and introduce you to all sorts of wildlife.
A handpicked selection of traders will be on site to celebrate the best of organic, sustainable and artisan produce. From seasonal plants and garden tools to the haute couture of sustainable outdoor wear, you’ll get the chance to discover unique finds and goodies.
After a summer of extreme heat and hosepipe bans, it feels like time to rethink how we garden – not in theory and not in a glossy magazine. The festival is somewhere people can come and actually see what resilient gardening looks like in practice, in an actual working garden – rubble beds and all.
Sarah Mead and the team have spent more than 30 years growing organically in the Yeo Valley Organic Garden, without chemical fertilisers or pesticides. If there’s one thing three decades teach you, it’s that organic gardening isn’t about getting everything right; it’s about watching, learning, getting it wrong sometimes and trying again – always working with nature rather than trying to bend it to your will.
The festival sold out completely last year, so whether you’re a total beginner, a seasoned allotment-holder or just someone who fancies a lovely day out in Somerset, this is genuinely your last chance to grab a ticket before the gates open.
At the start of Organic September, Yeo Valley Organic says it’s time to put nature first.
Yeo Valley Organic’s Tim Mead explains why one of the answers to our climate crisis could be right under our feet.
Yeo Valley Organic co-founder Mary Mead OBE reflects on her role in the journey of Britain’s largest organic brand.
