KEEN gardeners can enjoy an opulent breakfast with an expert in their field this summer.

Chris Beardshaw, who has won countless horticultural medals and is a regular face on the BBC, will be attending the 20th annual Arley Garden Festival in June.

Anyone who books a ticket for the two-day event before June 16 will be entered into a prize draw to win a champagne breakfast with Chris and Lord Ashbrook, whose family has owned Arley Hall and Gardens for 500 years.

“Chris is such a popular figure and has been a return visitor to Arley in recent years,” said event organiser Helen Robinson.

“We’re delighted he is offering the chance to sit and talk over a lovely breakfast and it will be the perfect way to start the second day of our festival.”

The event, on June 21 and 22, will include spectacular floral displays, a food fair and craft marquee.

There will also be a plant surgery, live music and a classic car display.

Chris will be judging the popular schools’ flowerbed challenge, which he helped to initiate, taking part in a gardeners’ question time and meeting plant nurserymen.

With 30 national and international awards for the gardens he has created, the Chelsea gold medal winner brings with him some impressive credentials.

Chris said: “Arley is one of the best examples in Britain of a garden that has been designed and maintained by the same family,” he said.

“Arley’s garden festival is a wonderful celebration of the season and I am looking forward to returning to see the gardens and meet local enthusiasts.”