Royal Three Counties Show - first preview

Previewing the Royal Three Counties Show
(food, farming and countryside)

Welcome back to those of you who have been following my gardening posts, and ‘hello’ to those of you who are joining me for the first time. Ann’s Malvern Jotter (this Blog) now encompasses other activities on the Showground.

Much more to entertain visitors than just food and farming:
The Red Devils in tandem as they descend towards the main arena

I’ve been visiting the June show every year for as long as I have the gardening shows. Of course, it wasn’t the ‘Royal’ then, but plain ‘Three Counties Show’. In its new guise (and since the demise of the royal event at Stoneleigh), the Malvern ‘Royal’ is growing; so much so that it now utilises almost every square metre of the 98-acre showground. Bursting at the seams in fact with a profusion of fantastic activities to inform and entertain you. I will need all three days to see it all!

There will be six food
and cookery demos
every day

Food, Glorious Food: Billed as ‘the best of British food, farming and countryside’, I am concentrating in this preview today on the food aspect. Centrally placed within the Showground is the ‘Regional Food & Drinks Village’ in the Severn Hall. Included in this spacious permanent building, and in no particular order, will be artisan food stalls; the Three Counties cheese competition – open to producers in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire and neighbouring counties.

Feeling hungry? Stalls to buy local produce will tempt you ...

Meat lovers will enjoy the butchery demonstration from EBLEX plus the Three Counties Cider Show together with a People’s Choice competition; local cider makers selling their produce and giving tastings; education on cider and how to make it, plus cider making equipment; a new class for Hotels and Restaurants and a stand featuring the HEFF Diamond Food award winners 2013. Additionally, farmers’ market stalls will lead into Severn Hall from Avenue F to create the Food Market. (For the uninitiated, EBLEX: the organsiation for the beef and lamb industry; HEFF: Heart of England Fine Foods.)

Cookery Theatre hosts
Glyn & Katie Johnson

Returning to the Show will be the immensely popular 'Cookery Theatre' (also within the Severn Hall) featuring local chefs and products in an immensely packed programme of demonstrations. The theatre programme will be hosted by experienced broadcasters, Katie & Glyn Johnson of ‘Wot’s Cooking’.

The 2013 Cookery Theatre in the Severn Hall 
(image copyright Wot's Cooking)

Reading through the advance list of what is on offer in the Cookery Theatre is tantalizing. On Friday 14th: Robert Swift, a 5th generation baker, who has recently opened his own artisan bakery and baking school in Ludlow, producing some of the most delicious and inventive breads imaginable. Vegetarian Cooking ideas will be demonstrated by Lizzy Hughes who runs ‘Our Lizzy’ Cookery School in Malvern Link – discover how to prepare simple, tasty, nutritious food. Daren Bale of The Hop Pole in Bewdley, recently recognised for his commitment to cooking by Worcestershire and Warwickshire Life Magazines, will feature Cooking Local & Seasonal; Rayeesa Asghar Sandys runs Herefordshire’s first and only authentic Indian Cookery School from her home in Mordiford and is a regular at Herefordshire Farmers' Market.

Bread - a necessity of life

Saturday 15th: Daniel Jones – All About Chocolate – worked at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage but his real love is as Master Chocolatier and Owner of 'Daniel Jones - Artisan Chocolatier'. Felice Tocchini – Ready Steady Cook; Felice has appeared on numerous TV programmes including The One Show, Countryfile, and The Gadget show as well as in the media worldwide for his innovative creations. Robert Swift (Artisan Baker) also returns on Saturday.

Cider, fruit juice and
perry all on tap

Sunday 16th: Steve Brown – head tutor of the cookery school at Daylesford Farm; following years of cooking in Michelin-starred kitchens, Steve followed his passion for local, sustainable, organic food, allowing the ingredients to do the talking. Matt Slocombe – It Has To Be Local – serves the very best food and drink that Herefordshire has to offer at the traditional Crown Inn, Woolhope; he is a huge supporter of the region’s produce, especially the cider! Daniel Jones reprises ‘All About Chocolate’.

Starting young - chefs in the making

A Recommendation: With less than three weeks to go until the opening of the Royal Three Counties Show, may I suggest that you purchase tickets now, for advance purchases come for as little as £8.00 per ticket (based on advanced family ticket price) – tremendous value for a grand day out for families: food, shopping and entertainment – and not forgetting the farming side of things.

All the fun of the fair - and Adam Henson (second left -
presenter of BBC Countryfile) will be
at the Show on Saturday 15th June)

And if you love Malvern and their shows as much as I do, it’s worth considering purchasing Showground Membership for yourself or family, or as a gift for friends. For this, you obtain free admission to three Show days in total per year, VIP Parking, Members VIP Areas at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show, Royal Three Counties Show and Malvern Autumn Show. Most importantly save some money!

Up close and personal with the sheep

I’ll be back in two weeks with my second Show preview, and look forward to welcoming you again, Meanwhile, do also follow the posts of sheep-loving young farmer Jack, in Jack’s Blog. And for all aspects of the Show continually updated visit the Royal Three Counties Show website.

Curtain Up (almost!)

Show Gardens in the making in the lee of the Malvern Hills
(all images were taken on Wednesday 1st May during
the build-up to the Malvern Spring Gardening Show)

As the final touches are put to show gardens and stands around the Three Counties Showground, I come to the end of my Spring Gardening Show previews. Thankyou for joining me on this journey, particularly if you have been with me from the beginning, back in the cold days of February; you’ve been a marvellous audience, if blog visitor numbers are anything to go by. Producing these posts has been a challenging experience;  and a real joy and privilege to have been leading you scene by scene through the various stages from imagination to reality.

Nostalgia appears in many forms

It’s been a strange adventure, too. Although I have posted so many times on various other blogs since I first discovered Malvern shows (in 2005), I have always felt on the outside, looking in; gradually, over the last twelve weeks, I have come to realise I am now on the inside, looking out. It has certainly changed my perception of what makes the Showground tick.

A long way to go yet -- but it will be ready on time

I walked around for quite a while on Wednesday (1st May), soaking it all in; the atmosphere, the busyness, the building of stands and show gardens, the camaraderie of everyone working together to bring you a magnificent Show. For first-time visitors it may appear bewildering as you walk through the gate; others may know exactly the direction in which they are heading, but you? I won’t take you by the metaphorical hand, but suggest instead that you head for one of the many coffee courts, relax for ten minutes or so and take a look at the show guide to get your bearings. With the spectacular hills behind you, orientate yourself … time well spent towards an enjoyable day.

This really IS - or will be - a Show Garden

Children participate as well

Waiting in the wings is this enormous cast of experienced and dedicated people, each with their own story to tell. There isn’t space to list them all, but the main features, with Show Guide pages to help you plan in advance, now follow:

Plants are delivered by the lorry load

* Show Gardens p22-37 (RHS awards and medals explained on page 123)
* Plants and People Theatre and programme of events (p47), highlights of which are outlined every day (Fri to Sun) at 10.30am by host James Alexander-Sinclair. (Thursday at 11.00am are the Malvern Young Gardener Awards)
* School Gardens and Education including the Discovery Zone and Theatreworks Arts Lab (p38-45)
* Malvern Spring Sportive Cycling Challenge - Sunday only (p49)
* Floral Marquee (7,000 square meters with more than 100 of the best nurseries from the UK and abroad (p53-61)

Just one section of the Floral Marquee - by 9th May it will be
crammed full of plant displays, plants for sale - and people
(don't forget your trolley, or buy one on site)

Indoor Halls & Pavilions:
* Wye Hall (p62-79) - Crafts and Craftsmen’s Guild displays; Garden Societies and Food Hall
* Gardeners’ Shopping Pavilion (p80-84)  - numerous stands PLUS ‘Dig for Prosperity’ (a new feature for 2013 highlighting the importance of creating a sustainable future for the countryside).
* Allotment Theatre (p86-87) located in the Shopping Pavilion and featuring an excellent programme of talks and demonstrations alongside ‘Grange Cottage’, a stage / garden.
* Avon Hall (p88) Floral Art.
* Three Counties Centre, Linden Suite (p89) – RHS Botanical Art Exhibition.
* Country Living Magazine Pavilion (p117-120) – an eclectic selection of stylish products from British independent designers, artisans and craftspeople.
* The RHS Stand (p50-51) – discover what the RHS can do for you: sharing knowledge and expertise, information on the various RHS initiatives such as Campaign for School Gardening; plus books and gifts.

Plants are appearing in the Show Gardens; soon all of them
will be planted to perfection

Outdoor Stands:
* ‘The Open’ (p93-115) – a huge variety of horticultural equipment, sundries and activities, plus nurseries (Plant Pavilions), plant crèche and porter service.
* Elgar Avenue (p106) – high-class shopping, alongside the RHS/TCAS members’ pavilion.
* Plaza Bandstand, by the Three Counties Centre, Row 7/Avenue F (p131) with performances by the seven-piece band Indigo Blues of vintage-style tunes inspired by jazz, blues and swing beats of yesteryear: each day between 1.30pm and 4.00pm. Sunday only (at 11..00am and 12.30pm), students from the Elgar School of Music will be playing their own blend of folk, jazz and world music.
* Catering facilities (p130) – are available throughout the Showground (indoors and outside).

Maybe you will spot me
around the Showground,
notebook in hand
scribbling or sketching.

As I write, the Show is still building. I will continue blogging during all four Show days, offering a kaleidoscopic scrapbook of Show news, activities and images. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players, they have their exits and their entrances …..” (from As You Like It, Act II Scene VII). Hackneyed through over-use but still so very true, and nowhere more so than at The Malvern Spring Gardening Show. Everyone here, or visiting, is a part of it. We all hope you will enjoy your day in this most lovely of settings.

WHY NOT ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE PAGES, TOO?  (Just click on the links):

Love our Shows, Like our Facebook Page - Facebook.com/threecounties
The International Orchid Show

Malvern Autumn Show

Starting young ...

School children ready for a day at the Spring Gardening Show

Have you ever considered as you walk around the Showground, absorbing the beauty of the gardens and so many plant nursery delights, from whence stems all this inspiration? We all have to begin somewhere, and so very often, what we are introduced to in childhood becomes first an interest, and for some the passion of a lifetime. For me there were many triggers which began over 70 years ago walking with my grandmother in the Surrey woods. What I unknowingly absorbed then and later now fuels much that goes on in my eclectic garden and orchard, my writing, my travels, my creative journals; in fact these childhood beginnings have taken over my whole life.

Enthusiastic, bright-eyed children explain to me their participation at the 2012 Show

Why this preamble? I want to introduce you to the educational side of  Malvern and to the Society's commitment to working with children through all ages and stages of education - over the entire year. Marvellous work is undertaken on the Showground and in schools under the auspices of Education Officer, Sue Hodgson-Jones. 

The children just love talking to visitors about their garden

A culmination for many youngsters is their fantastic work at the Spring Gardening Show – gardens designed by school and college groups and created under much the same conditions as those you will see by adult and professional designers. The children’s enthusiasm is boundless; talk to them about what they create – they are knowledgeable and dedicated, as are their teachers and tutors; what they do goes far beyond curriculum specifications.

These pupils, with their classmates, based their whole exhibit 
on a storybook

This year the theme is truly inspiring – and even more educational than usual. Sixteen gardens are to be created by pupils from nursery age right through to college students. Their chosen theme will be based on 'Storytelling': book titles, or aspects thereof. The uninitiated may not realise the significance of this; a book has to be thoroughly understood before it can be interpreted in a creative, living format.

The style of school gardens often takes you by surprise - ingenious use of recycling in this one

No children? There was so much detail in this garden 
that we could only photograph it during their lunch break 
- and this is only a part of it

The ‘School Garden Project Challenge’ is a regular event at the Spring Gardening Show and all participating establishments are as keen as ever this year to be involved. Their remit this year is to “Design, plan and build you a 24sqm Show Garden.” 

Many schools also displayed additional work from school and even set up shop!

The project is extremely rewarding and offers pupils and students the chance to learn a wide range of skills (planning, gardening, communication and team work). It also encompasses many National Curriculum subjects; and many schools display some of their classwork at the Show.

In safe hands: BAM Construct supply help and support
(see green display board in the background)

Support is offered throughout the whole process, and particularly from Show Sponsors BAM Construct who are available throughout the show garden build-up, which for schools begins on 18th April, just three weeks before the opening day of the Show.

Always popular is the 'Discovery Zone' with plenty of hands-on activities

Apart from the youngsters’ show gardens, there is educational fun for all the family within the adjacent ‘Discovery Zone’ marquee. Take a look here at some of the activities on offer.

Notebook at the ready - and a fund of knowledge to impart to visitors

I was pleased to have the opportunity at a previous Show to talk
to Chris Beardshaw about his views on the importance of
educational participation at these shows.

The Education Section is situated between Rows 5 and 7, next to the main Show Gardens. With the Spring Gardens Coffee Court alongside, there’s no excuse for neglecting the work of pupils and students! So please find time to visit this important and pleasurable aspect of the Show; your support will encourage the children and help them to discover just how passionate we ALL are about gardens and gardening. Or we would not be at Malvern, would we?

For more details on Three Counties Educational Activities, please visit the website.

WHY NOT ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE PAGES, TOO?  (Just click on the links):
Love our Shows, Like our Facebook Page - Facebook.com/threecounties
Malvern Autumn Show

AND PLEASE KEEP VISITING Ann's Malvern Jotter: I’ll be blogging again every week during the Show build-up, and daily 'live' during the actual Show. I also recommend regular clicks onto the Spring Gardening Show website for regular updates and more breaking news.

Gardens, Garden Design, and more ...

A Show Garden from a previous year, peaceful and naturalistic

As the Malvern Spring Gardening Show approaches ever nearer (only four weeks away now), advance information flows thick and fast. Spring really does seem to be unfolding, though last week when I was at the Showground for the fantastic ‘CountryTastic’ it was so cold (with snow on the hills), it was hard to believe that all would be transformed come Thursday 9th May. But it will be.

Bicycles are 'in' (read on)

Knowing how much readers enjoy looking at Show Gardens, and pulling them apart, or disagreeing with the judges’ opinions(!) - I trawled through the Show image archives for gardens from the past that really inspired me for one reason and another. You will not see any of these designs at this year’s show, of course, but news of what is on offer arrives almost daily in my inbox.

A nostalgic planting - this reminds me of childhood

First – and a first for Malvern - the Malvern Spring Gardening Show has teamed up with the Cotswold Gardening School to offer gardening enthusiasts the chance to win a fantastic 'Introduction to Garden Design' or ‘Planting Day’ course at the school. This superb opportunity is only open to visitors who pre-book their tickets (saves £s on ticket prices anyway). You will have the chance of winning one of five day courses and there will also be another set of five Planting Day courses up for grabs for anyone signing up to the Three Counties Showground e-newsletters. What are you waiting for?

You could happily sit all day in this garden

As for an update on the Show Gardens: The 2012 Olympics has had a considerable impact on gardening. Of the 14 show gardens this year, 50% have a sporting theme whilst all of them mirror the naturalistic planting in the London Olympic Park; a must for those gardeners keen to keep ahead of horticultural trends.

Equally inviting

THEMES are varied, though Sport – particularly cycling – is predominant taking inspiration both from Team GB’s cycling success as well as this year’s Tour de France, which celebrates its 100th anniversary. Sustainability, up-cycling and the environment continue to be popular themes with a natural burial site and solar paving the subject of a further two gardens. One of the show gardens pays tribute to the beloved Timelord complete with Dalek, for this year is the 50th anniversary of the cult TV programme, Dr Who.

A touch of quirkiness, and wild flowers, too.

Naturalistic planting is common to all of the gardens; herbs, vegetables and fruit trees are no longer segregated but feature within flowerbeds and throughout the gardens themselves. Formal trees and topiary provide strong, architectural lines in many of the gardens. Grasses are popular, too, whether they have an English woodland or Mediterranean theme to them. Herbs, especially lavender and those that provide scent, are much in evidence. Edible flowers, such as calendula and courgette blossoms – anything which looks and tastes good will be a challenge, and salad plants happily grow in flowerbeds alongside more formal planting.

Such fun!

You will find inspiration all around you in all the Show Gardens. And to further whet your appetite, the newly designed (for 2013) Malvern Spring Gardening Show website goes from strength to strength, so keep checking it every day, or you might miss something truly intriguing.

WHY NOT ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE PAGES, TOO?  (Just click on the links):
Love our Shows, Like our Facebook Page - Facebook.com/threecounties
Malvern Autumn Show

AND PLEASE KEEP VISITING Ann's Malvern Jotter: I’ll be blogging again next week; and as the Show builds, I recommend regular clicks onto the Spring Gardening Show website for regular updates and more breaking news.

Malvern - a Shopper's Paradise

Buying hostas - the green of Spring - from a knowledgeable 
specialist in the Floral Marquee

PLANTS, PLANTS, PLANTS in marquee or pavilions; and for those who desire more than plants, an elegant shopping parade along which to linger, a feel for country living, or a browse around an Arts Market and Artisan Food stalls. There is so much to entice and beguile us all come May, it’s more a question of what to do first! And Malvern has that undeniable quality of location; you cannot miss the feel of Spring, or that sense of exuberance on the Showground, with the Hills so close, watchful and protecting.

There's plenty of choice in the Floral Marquee
from foxgloves to fritillarias, poppies to pelargoniums - and more

Garden and plant lovers more often than not head straight for the Floral Marquee or the Plant Pavilions. The former under cover – and the latter a row of tented nurseries with outdoor plantings in which you can see many of the plants growing in realistic situations. Intrepid plant hunters will know the ropes, but newcomers to gardening and first-timers at the Show may feel a little bewildered. So first, a few tips: wear comfortable clothing and sensible shoes. Cash in hand will speed up your plant purchases and there’s a plant crèche and porter service conveniently placed on Row 3 so you can snap up those ‘must-haves’, deposit them into safe keeping, and enjoy the rest of the day unburdened. (Don’t forget to collect them!) Alternatively, stalls abound selling trolleys or folding barrows, so there isn’t a problem if you get carried away!

Sampling the Plant Pavilions
(plant creche is in the 
black building middle left)

It would be invidious - and unfair - to single out specific nurseries or plant exhibitors for there are so many, and we all have our favourites,  'must haves' and an understandable penchant for different plants. But a suggestion to make the most of having so many marketing ‘live’ at a single location (as opposed to looking at their websites) is to take a look around your garden – now, today, and onwards until the Show – and list what you might want to look for: a shrub or climber to fill that gap where the neighbour has positioned an unsightly compost heap (important as they are); or perhaps grasses for a new-style border, or alpines for a trough. I’ll be looking for foxgloves (a love of mine since childhood, and this year’s Show emblem).

You can't mistake the Floral Marquee, but signposts around
the Showground will direct you

A few facts: there are around 30 Plant Pavilions and these are all located in Row 2, opposite the range of covered halls: Avon Hall packed with Floral Art, Gardener’s Shopping Pavilion with the Allotment Theatre and its ‘Dig for Prosperity’ theme, and the Wye Hall filled with food and wine stalls and the Three Counties Guild of Craftsmen - all with wares to sell. As for the Floral Marquee, it covers more than 7,000 square metres and accommodates 100 of the best nurseries from the UK and abroad. Exhibitors' displays are judged by some of the top judges from the Royal Horticultural Society, with many of the displays winning coveted RHS Gold Medals. A truly impressive sight and definitely not to be missed, if you are addicted to plants.

Enjoy the shopping experience along the 'Elgar Parade'

Shopping Paradise exists in other parts of the Showground, so leave yourself time to explore. The prestigious ‘Elgar Parade’ is this year re-sited onto Row 5 at the very heart of the Show with easy access from all parts of the Showground. It has new tentage, floral displays and incorporates entrance to the RHS/TCAS Members Pavilion. Shopping par-excellence. And the significance of Elgar? Classical music-lovers will be aware that Elgar loved the area all around the Malvern Hills, and explored the countryside on his bicycle in the early 1900s. He wrote far more than the music for ‘Land of Hope and Glory’. It is perhaps more fitting that his name is celebrated here, for he commented, "This is what I hear all day – the trees are singing my music – or have I sung theirs?" He is buried in a local Churchyard, within sight of the fields and wooded hills where he once cycled.

Self-explanatory and well worth it

Across from the Elgar Parade, at its intersection with Avenue F, is the chic and fashionable ‘Country Living Pavilion’ with numerous boutique-style stands. Associated with stylish ‘Country Living’ magazine, this area is for anyone whose heart is in the country; it offers a "unique lifestyle package, mixing homes and decorating with food and farming; crafts and gardening with fashion, health and beauty". A wonderful eclectic mix, whether you are seeking a new outfit, fabrics for your home, or art and nostalgic memorabilia.

Allow yourself plenty of browsing time inside 'RHS Life'

Stroll across to ‘RHS Life’ in the Show Garden area, for more shopping delights. As well as offering expert gardening advice, you will find details on RHS membership and quality gardening books to buy. Plus a range of specially designed and commissioned gifts inspired by the subject of gardens: from fine china to tea-towels and floral paper napkins – I am addicted to buying these and use them in my hand-made Malvern Journals. An Arts Market is also to be found in the Show Garden area, and Artisan Food Stalls by the striking Three Counties Centre. If you still have time, the rest of the Showground is host to numerous other exhibitors selling all manner or garden related products – no-one is likely to leave empty-handed! Have you booked your tickets yet?

AND PLEASE ‘KEEP VISITING’: I’ll be blogging again in two weeks time, and weekly after that. But meanwhile, I recommend regular clicks onto the Spring Gardening Show website for regular updates and more breaking news.

WHY NOT ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE PAGES, TOO?  (Just click on the links)
Malvern Spring Gardening Show
Love our Shows, Like our Page - Facebook.com/threecounties
Malvern Autumn Show

A Show with Feeling

Quintessentially English is the wild foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), which this year symbolises the Malvern Spring Gardening Show – and the Malvern Hills themselves. Come the actual Show (from 9th to 12th May) they will be flowering on the steep slopes, and down sequestered lanes of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Displayed on Show posters and leaflets, their presence speaks of late-Spring, and Summer-to-come; and on the Showground, too, their pink spires will remind us of lazy days cycling in rural places, as I did as a child.

Foxgloves in a
Malvern  showgarden

Their flowers beguiled me (and still do) – as a little girl, I would collect the fallen tubular blossoms, each speckled in their throat, and place them upside down on my fingertips. A handful of the countryside, and many childhood memories; and, without realising it, a life-long love of plants. So often, what you learn as a child stays with you forever.

The new Three Counties Agricultural Society chief uses pedal power

Pedalling allows one to absorb so much more of one’s surroundings, and by now, the new Three Counties Agricultural Society chief, Ken Nottage, is proving that pedal power is just the ticket, when it comes to circumnavigating his new working domain. Ken, who officially took the helm at the Society’s Three Counties Showground  on December 1st, is not fazed by the 90 acre perimeter site at the foot of the Malvern Hills, and is literally getting on his bike – astride a fully restored 1957 Royal Enfield. He said: “I was reading a copy of  ‘Three Into One’ – John Lewis’s excellent chronicle of the Society - and was amused to read that years ago, a former company secretary carried out his ground inspections astride a pony! I was inspired to follow suit, but with no equine prowess to my name, opted for an arguably safer, and definitely less temperamental, mode of transport. This is a beautiful place to work, but it’s also a large area to cover on foot, so a bike is a great way of getting from A to B quickly, without polluting the fresh air.”

It's easy to find your way around

How I wish I could give all first-timers to the Spring Gardening Show a quick guided tour by bike, a leisurely and gentle introduction to all that you will find once you arrive; but instead will outline what I term the four main ‘quadrants’, each with a distinct characteristic. The Showground is divided by hard-surfaced roadways – Rows and Avenues, and all sections are clearly signposted with large-scale maps at most intersections. Avenues run north to south, parallel with the Malvern Hills (good for orienting yourself), and Rows run from east to west. Stand in your imagination (map in hand) at the junction of Avenue 5 and Row 5 (Elgar Avenue) facing the hills:

Bikes are 'in' this year!

The quandrant to your right is ‘home’ to the RHS/TCAS Members’ Pavilion, The Severn Hall and the new Three Counties Centre, the RHS Botanical Art Exhibition), the Bandstand, Show Office, Artisan Food Market, excellent trade stands, and lots of catering venues.

Ahead of you will be the magnificent ‘Malvern Floral Marquee’ and to your left, Plant Pavilions galore (many are specialist nurseries); undercover, the Avon Hall (floral art`), the Gardeners’ Shopping Pavilion and Allotment Theatre, the Wye Hall – home to plant societies, food and wine stalls, and the Three Counties Guild of Craftsmen’. Plus the Eco Art & Garden area and innumerable trade stands related to horticulture.

The Plants & People Theatre always draws a large audience

Swivel on the spot with the Hills at your back and walk slowly away from then down Row 5. To your immediate right is the ‘Country Living magazine Pavilion’ and lots more useful trade stands.

One of many excellent School Gardens:  the children are so knowledgeable, and keen to talk to visitors

Whilst to your left (with your back to the Hills) are the eclectic School Gardens, the Learning Garden and Discovery Zone and Spring Gardens Coffee Court and then – across Row 7 the Show Gardens (including the Themed Garden category inspired by the Tour de France), RHS Life, an Art Market and the Plants and People Theatre. So much to absorb, so many activities, and in my next posts (during March), I will be describing some of these in more detail as news emerges. Click on all the links to keep up-to-date with all that is happening.