A visit to an English garden show is at the top of many people’s wish list…

Royal Horticultural Society arranges several garden shows each year, and they are all very popular. At these shows you get a lot of ideas and inspiration to bring home – or maybe just dream about. This is where the new flower varieties are presented, and you get insight into what is happening in the world of gardening.

The best known show is Chelsea Flower Show, but for over 25 years the Malvern Spring Gardening Show has marked the beginning of the season. The exhibition area lies beautifully near the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire, where there is plenty to look at before and after the show.

The huge tent is bursting with flowers and arrangements in the prettiest colors. Everyone is of course trying to outdo each other – in an exhibition like this only the best is a winner.

More and more emerging designers are participating, and they all show great ingenuity in the many show gardens. The most talented designers earn an award, and the prizes are well deserved, as it must be a great achievement to build a garden from scratch in just three weeks.

The show gardens are extremely diverse. Some themes could be peaceful water gardens inviting you to sit and enjoy the sound of trickling water, while others may be edible gardens, rock gardens, trimmed gardens or memorial gardens.

There is something for everyone at the annual Spring Show in Malvern. Whether you have green fingers or just want to enjoy the atmosphere at such a cosy English gardening show, you will be thrilled. The art of limitation is hard to master at these shows – most visitors leave the exhibition carrying armfuls of flowers and plants.

Photo: © RHS