Earlier this month, we were fortunate enough to be invited to attend RHS Malvern Spring Festival, a four day garden and lifestyle event held annually in Malvern, Gloucestershire (think Chelsea Flower Show with a backdrop of rolling hills and fresh, country air). We arrived on the Saturday mid morning, with the sun blazing and only a few clouds in the sky; we knew we were going to have a great day.
After a swift recce, we headed for the main stage to see baking royalty Mary Berry. The stage was set with an oversized throne made of grass, which was perfect for the Queen of cakes herself. After giving the gathered crowd a warm welcome, Mary and Gardener’s World’s Joe Swift talked about Mary’s role as President of the The National Garden’s Scheme and her fondness for gardening in her own home, before opening up the stage to audience questions.
Never one to miss an opportunity, Adam asked Mary about the growing trend for foraged food as seen on last year’s Bake Off, and increasingly around the Cotswold’s finest establishments, which led into an interesting debate about homegrown cooking and microherbs. Mary also made a little boy’s day, seating him on her lap and asking him about his cooking. It was great to see that Mary is just as warm and passionate in real life as on TV.
After a quick stop for lunch at one of the many fabulous food stalls, we took a leisurely stroll around the star attraction, the Show Gardens. These professional gardens were so clever, taking simple elements and combining them in captivating and imaginative ways; who knew you could do so much in such a small space?!?
Our favourite was the stunning ROMANTIC GARDEN, set around an Italian courtyard; abundant sea of pink roses were bordered with fragrant Mediterranean herbs, twisted olive trees swaying in the breeze, and towering Cyprus trees adding a sense of architectural grandiosity. Rustic chairs were laid out for an imaginary wedding with a cute pair of white doves cooing their I-Dos as the sun shone down. It was very easy to forget that you were in the shadow of the Malvern Hills, and the other gardens compounded the fantasy with beautiful Japanese forests, wood cutter’s cabins and abandoned underground houses to choose from.
The sun then chose to disappear for a while so we took advantage of the undercover shopping and found a wide range of beautifully crafted products from Sam Brown’s buttery leather belts, accented with bold acrylic edging to the adorable Boop Design bud vases, modelled on vintage medicine bottles. Not forgetting the huge variety of plants and products for the more green fingered shoppers, we took inspiration from the Romantic Italian garden and bought some of the incredible roses and herbs for our garden.
With the day drawing to a close, we snuck in a few more foodie samples, adding a bottle of the Cheltenham based Sibling gin to our collection, having been won over by its unusual blueberry tones, and the four young and enthusiastic siblings behind it. Having also picked up a camellia from the enormous Plant Village, we staggered back to the car with our haul, enjoying a free can of Bottlegreen lemonade and mint, and narrowly avoiding torrential rain.
Whilst we’ve always enjoyed the garden, we’ve never really considered attending a garden show. but having now been to RHS Malvern, we can honestly say that we can’t wait for the next show to roll around, as there really is something for everyone.
With The Royal Three Counties agricultural and countryside show in just a few weeks time on 17-19th June, I’ve got a feeling we are going to be regular visitors to Malvern.