BBC Radio 4 and RHS celebrate The Archers 75th anniversary with a feature garden

BBC Radio 4 and the RHS celebrate The Archers 75th anniversary by bringing the garden at Bridge Farm to RHS Badminton, designed by one of the UK’s most celebrated garden designers, Jo Thompson

For the first time, a special Archers themed garden will be created and showcased at an RHS Flower Show, the RHS’ new RHS Badminton Flower Show (8–12 July), to celebrate The Archers 75th anniversary in 2026.

Designed by Jo Thompson, one of the UK’s most respected and celebrated garden designers, The Archers 75th Anniversary Garden, will celebrate the long and rich tradition of The Archers, while also reflecting the changes in land use and farming methods over the past 75 years.

The garden will bring to life one of The Archers most important locations, Bridge Farm, and will be a pioneering, productive, sustainable, welcoming, family centred and optimistic space. It will highlight Bridge Farm’s commitment to organic farming and share the joy of intergenerational gardening by being a place for all ages to enjoy.

Following on from The Archers’ storyline in 2025 in which a sewage spill flooded Bridge Farm, causing chaos for the family business, The Archers 75th Anniversary Garden will be a hopeful, front garden, which has been lovingly rebuilt after the damage from the spill.

To more closely align the garden with the on-air drama, throughout 2026 there will be references in the programme to the replanting of the garden at Bridge Farm, some of which will be reflected in The Archers 75th Anniversary Garden at RHS Badminton Flower Show.

The 12m by 18m RHS Feature Garden, which will not be judged, will include Bridge Farm’s visitor’s entrance and notice board with bunting and pots; orchard fruit trees growing within a

A term generally applied to non-woody, flowering plants that are natural to a particular area and grow there without human assistance. More accurately, British wildflowers normally applies to UK natives including plants introduced into the wild before 1500.

wildflower meadow; a cheese making area and a potting bench with branded Bridge Farm vegetable boxes. There will also be a wildlife pond.

Archers fan and RHS gold medal-winning garden designer Jo Thompson, whose beautifully crafted gardens, exquisite planting and mastery of space, colour and form have earned her a deeply loyal following, said: “I’ve been a long-time Archers fan, so creating a Bridge Farm garden to mark the programme’s 75th anniversary has been an absolute joy. The Archers world feels incredibly familiar to so many people, and everyone has their own idea of what Bridge Farm looks like, which has made it both exciting and a little daunting, in the best possible way.”

​I’ve loved the challenge of imagining how that much-loved place might translate into a real garden at RHS Badminton, and I can’t wait to see it come to life, with plenty of small details that will feel familiar to listeners.

Jeremy Howe, editor of The Archers, said, “This year The Archers is celebrating a truly incredible milestone. It is still one of the BBC’s most popular programmes and for the past 75 years it has been reflecting rural life in the UK. The RHS garden will be a wonderful opportunity for fans to see Bridge Farm brought to life as never before – we can’t wait.”

• Book your tickets to the show, 8–12 July 2026