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  ![A whimsical raised border garden features a black archway, a grassy path, stylized trees, a tree stump, and vibrant red and pink flowers.](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/media/3300ba02-478e-440f-80ec-c141cb8f670e/conversions/PaulNicholsonGWAF26gallery-gallery.webp)

  [Gardens](https://gardensdb.com/gardens) / [ BBC Gardeners' World Autum Fair 2026 ](https://gardensdb.com/shows/bbc-gardeners-world-autum-fair-2026) 

  Beautiful Borders  

 Once upon a time... Where Imagination Lived 
=============================================

 At a glance

  Show BBC Gardeners' World Autum Fair 

 Year 2026 

 Category Beautiful Borders 

   Border  

  About this garden

 The story 
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At the bottom of my childhood garden, through the old metal archway, there was a world that belonged only to us. The grass like a tournament field, and with sticks for swords we became knights of legend, as daring as Robin Hood and as loyal as any cavalry sworn to a noble cause. The trees were our fortress walls, their branches ladders to secret watchtowers where we could see kingdoms no one else believed in.

We climbed without fear, bark rough against our palms, the scent of leaves and earth rising like a promise of endless summer. Time did not exist there- only laughter, breathless chases, and the distant echo of our names when dinner was ready.

Years have passed, yet that small patch of green lives on inside me. In my own garden now, I have shaped trees and winding paths to mirror that sacred place, rebuilding the magic where imagination once ruled.

  Photography

 Gallery 
---------

  ![](https://cdn.gardensdb.com/media/3300ba02-478e-440f-80ec-c141cb8f670e/conversions/PaulNicholsonGWAF26gallery-gallery.webp)    

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