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Festival to bring blooms and gardening traditions

Clare LissamanWest Midlands
News imageRHS Malvern Two women are standing among rows of shrubs and are smiling. The woman on the left, who has long hair and is wearing a brown jacket, is touching some leaves. RHS Malvern
Organisers said nurseries provide "an abundance of flora and fauna" at the festival

An annual flower show will celebrate gardening traditions which have been passed down over hundreds of years when it opens next month.

The RHS Malvern Spring Festival will follow the theme Roots of the Future, aiming to "honour the past, grow the future" when it returns to Three Countries Showground in Malvern.

Organisers said it will include six outdoor show gardens, four feature gardens and four indoor plant gardens; as well as a programme of events from 7 to 10 May.

"This year's festival is set to be spectacular and will see the crowning of the very first RHS-judged gardens of the year," said organisers.

RHS Malvern added judges will have two new categories to consider - Blooming Borders, which features 10 borders, and five creative entries in Floral Tablescaping.

News imageRHS Malvern A man in a blue shirt and waistcoat who is talking and has his arms raised. Behind him is a yellow arch and green trees and plants. RHS Malvern
Veteran gardener Alan Titchmarsh will be among famous guests at the event

Special guests will include Monty Don, Alan Titchmarsh, Mary Berry and Frances Tophill.

RHS Malvern said its school garden challenge also returns, encouraging young people from the surrounding counties to design and create their own gardens.

Primary and secondary school pupils can produce imaginative gardens along on the theme Myths and Legends.

This year's festival will also showcase a new feature garden by Cheltenham-based Martyn Wilson which highlights the benefits of clay.

As well as being "visually inspiring", it will offer practical inspiration about using clay soil as an advantage, organisers added.

News imageRHS Malvern A garden at last year's event. It includes groups of flowers and small fir trees and a wooden structure. There is also a metal design and a yellow path. RHS Malvern
Gardens created for the event aim to provide ideas and inspiration

Alongside gardening traditions, the festival will look at innovations, such as climate resilient design.

Meanwhile, Three Counties Showground managers said the 30-year-old Stockman's Cafe at the venue has re-opened after an investment project which has given it a 200-seat capacity.

David Precott, chief executive of Three Countries Agricultural Society, said the cafe, which will host more than 25 events a year, was now more spacious and modern and had a "home from home feel".

A "buy a brick" project which is creating a legacy wall in the cafe is helping fund the building costs.

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