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Gardeners World Live - pressure washers
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Message 1.Â
Posted by perkinsj (U11760881) on Thursday, 1st May 2008
i am off to Gardeners World Live this year for the first time and I am very excited!!! I know you can buy plants there - and I am budgeting accordingly at the moment, but I was wondering what other retail is there in particular whether pressure washers are there as they are always found in the gardening section of my local stores. Would love some guidance on shopping options.
thanks -
Message 2
Posted by jackie-gardener (U11762396) on Friday, 2nd May 2008
My mother and I went to Gardeners World- Live 3yrs ago. There are hundreds of non-flower stalls all under cover in the great halls where you will find an abundance of things to buy. Yes there are pressure washers and much more BUT there is a massive walk to get from the car park/ or train station down to the grounds and for this reason only we won`t be going again and wouldn`t advise you buy much either as your arms will be broken by the time you`ve walked the miles back to transport. We were very disappointed about this -as- like you were so exited about going. So be careful what you do buy and be prepared for the long distance walk. Enjoy.
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Message 3
Posted by paddyc (U2019727) on Friday, 2nd May 2008
we have been for the past 5 years and would not miss it, there are coaches that take you from the car parks to the show and back again and i believe there is a car pick up point for heavier items? Perhaps somebody else could confirm this. We stay over at a local hotel and make a min break of it.
Paddy -
Message 4
Posted by Seacarrot (U3012141) on Friday, 2nd May 2008
Yes, you can drive your car to a specified point at the back of one of the halls to load heavy bulky items, you just need to let the sellers know and they will help you out.
Also arriving early before the show opens usually ensures they park you near the hall, as more cars arrive and space fills up, you are put further away.
Don't be put off by the walk to/from the car.
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Message 5
Posted by Seacarrot (U3012141) on Friday, 2nd May 2008
The following was my advice posted last year. 2007
****
Wear comfy shoes.
Take thick shopping bags/ those bag for life canvas types are perfect...anything with a base.
Take some water.
Take lots of SMALL change.
Take every opportunity for a pee.
Take a Camera.
Take your time.
Take small raincoat..not umbrella.
Avoid anywhere with a Celeb/Royal.. (the area becomes a standstill and/or a scrum.) unless your into that sort of thing.
(If you subscribe to Gardeners World Magazine TAKE YOUR GREEN SUBSCRIBER CARD so you can get discounts from some stalls. )
Take a pen and note pad for plant names
Take Spare seeds to seed swap,
(It is on for 2008)!
and YES you can take commercial packets such as T&M, Mr Fothergills etc...
If your driving get there early, then you get parked nearer the NEC, which is nice if you have to take stuff back to your car, or if you want to fetch a picnic.
And finally as this year is yet again new set up with the Good Food thing and Homes bit, all of my advice might go out the window. So come on here after you have been and tell us what you bought, what you thought of it.
I'm going weds, when there are lots of plants still in stock for me to buy.
All the best.
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Message 6
Posted by Stressed out (U11163734) on Friday, 2nd May 2008
Pressure washers - buy one on line or at your local DIY store
I personally like Karcher as you can get spares and in my experience are very reliable.
They will have a stand at GW Live so have a demonstration and try out the one you like.
GW live
Prepare yourself for very expensive plants as the cost of a stand at GW live is astronomical.
Other than that it is normally very very good. Just hope all the botanical art is there this year. -
Message 7
Posted by malanD (U7337386) on Friday, 2nd May 2008
I bought one few weeks ago from www.cleanstore.co.uk and used it once. I have been to GW Live many times but only buy what we can carry. If I like something which is bulky and heavy, I get their leaflet and order it later OR buy it and get it delivered free of charge, they do sometimes.
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Message 8
Posted by garyhobson (U11055016) on Saturday, 3rd May 2008
A few more points, if you haven't been before:
There are a lot of very large car parks. You need to make a note of the number of the car park you are in (North 1; East 2; or whatever they are called), and also make a good note of exactly where your car is within the car park.
There are free buses which run every few minutes from every car park, and take you to the show entrance.
When you leave the show you need to know which car park you came from, so you can get the right bus back!
When people say "get there early", if you want to park within walking distance of the show entrance, I think that means arriving around half an hour or so before the show opens (8.30-ish).
Great queues of people build up near the show entrances some time before the show opens.
It is best to get there for when the doors open, then you have a couple of hours before it starts getting too crowded. It can become like a scrum around some stalls.
If you go with friends, make sure you have some procedure for finding each other if you should get separated. I think there are points labelled "assembly point", if you can find them.
If you go with children or an elderly person it is very important that they know what to do if you should get separated (you could even attach a label to them with some instructions for anyone who finds them).
A lot of people take small trolleys on wheels (similar to the sort of things people use for shopping). There are many stalls inside the show selling these trolleys for about £10. A lot of people wheeling these things around can be a bit of a nuisance when it gets crowded.
Those trolleys can also be very difficult to handle if you put a couple of heavy plants in them.
Much better if you want to buy a lot of heavy stuff: you can get every stall you buy stuff from to get your purchases sent directly to a car pick up point. Each stall will give you a ticket for each item you buy (always a bit of a worry - will the stuff I've paid for turn up - will this be like Terminal 5?).
There's also a plant creche where you can take collections of small and large stuff. I think they can also forward your packages to the car pick up point (not certain). You can put a lot of small items inside a carrier bag, which can be labelled as a single item, and sent to the pick up point.
When you've finished and got back to your car, you then have to drive to the pick up point. The NEC is like a small town, so finding the pick up point isn't as simple as it sounds. Most stalls will offer you a map which shows routes from the car parks to the pick up point.
The pick up point is like an aircraft hangar. Cars drive in, and all the purchases are lined up on the floor in rows, alphabetically sorted by purchaser's surname, I think. There are lots of strong lads on hand to help shift stuff into your car. -
Message 9
Posted by Stressed out (U11163734) on Saturday, 3rd May 2008
Good offer on a pressure washer, free delivery as well -
Message 10
Posted by garyhobson (U11055016) on Saturday, 3rd May 2008
The original poster said that he'd seen products similar to the one he wanted to buy in his local garden centre, and asked for some shopping guidance, specifically about "pressure washers".
You need to bear in mind that it's expensive to get into GW, and expensive to park, and you've got your travelling costs. So there's a £30 overhead before you've bought anything (could be a lot more if you're coming from a distance).
In one of the TV reviews (not sure if it was of the NEC or another show), either Carol Klein or Joe Swift (can't recall who), in selecting their recommened buys, chose something like plant labels or cloche clips.
If you only want something that is inexpensive then it may be more convenient to buy it now from your local garden centre, or even via Amazon (you can get cloche clips and garden tools through Amazon).
Generally, I think you ought to be looking for items not easily found in garden centres (eg herbaceaous plants that are not main-stream), or maybe expensive large items such as pots and statues, or other niche produces (eg botanical art that someone just above has mentioned).
When GW Live began it was about the only place you could find many items, such as original pots, and including many exotic plants (cannas and bananas etc). But nowadays many of the better garden centres are providing increasingly wider ranges of all these products, and so you may be able to find equally good stuff much nearer to home.
If you go on to Amazon and put "pressure washer" in the search box, it says it has 425 different products available. Many have "customer reviews" so you can see what real cusomers think of each product, and not what some high pressure sales person is trying to tell you. It might be worth studying all that before you decide what you might buy. -
Message 11
Posted by Amblelottie (U10890083) on Saturday, 3rd May 2008
We have been to GWL a few times including the very first one. We even met Geoff Hamilton there - we don't go anymore because of the cost. You can get a lot of plants from a garden centre for the cost of admittance and parking.
The lovely show at Malvern seems to be going the same way - it used to be really reasonable but once it had been on TV the entry charge started to escalate now it is too expensive for us, which is a great pity because it was a lovely day out in such a nice setting too. -
Message 12
Posted by perkinsj (U11760881) on Saturday, 3rd May 2008
Thank you for all your advice.
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Message 13
Posted by Sheila1 (U2826143) on Saturday, 3rd May 2008
I have been going for years and again this year. My advice is just go and enjoy. Do your own thing but take your own food, drinks not too bad, but queues and rip off at food stalls. Unless you really want don't go to plant swap,as you won't always be seen by a celebrity and you meet lots of people going round the plant tents. If you are really keen to go to the talks,fine, but the stall holders are always very helpful.and so interesting to talk to. Big show and these extras can waste valuable viewing and buying time. Also don't use plant creche,as that also wastes valuable time getting them out as there areb often long queues. There is so much to see. Enjoy. Great show.
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Message 14
Posted by lynnebroc (U11936848) on Tuesday, 20th May 2008
I'm going for the first time too with several girlfriends from work. We're leaving the kids with husbands and making a full day of it. We're going on the Sunday and having been to the Christmas fayre at the NEC in Nov all I can say is wear comfy shoes, a bottle of water and if possible a sandwich. Food tended to be on the pricey side for a small amount. Follow Jamie Olivers advice and just wrap it in foil so you can throw it away and have less to carry.
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