GARDENING: RHS Malvern Spring Festival

<p>The Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Malvern Spring Festival is a fantastic annual event that takes place amongst the backdrop of the spectacular Malvern Hills. It’s the place to go if you are a keen gardener or foodie, as visitors are treated to show gardens, floral displays, celebrity talks, and lots of glorious food and drink.</p> <p>By Daniel Browne | 9th May 2014</p><p></p><p> </p><p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4609544636.jpg" width="460" height="306" alt="Villaggio Verde Show Garden" title="Villaggio Verde Show Garden"/></p> <p></p><p>As a first time visitor to this particular festival, a keen gardener and complete foodie, I was full of anticipation.</p><p></p><p>Upon arriving at the festival I was greeted by the beginning of what turned out to be a whole day of heavy rain, but I wasn’t going to let that dampen my spirits. On entering the Malvern Show Ground, I was treated to exactly what the festival promised; wonderful show gardens, amazing floral displays, celebrity talks from the likes of James Martin, and delicious food and drink.</p><p></p><p> </p><p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4609544632.jpg" width="460" height="818" alt="Acer Palmatum" title="Acer Palmatum"/></p> <p></p><p>Knowing that lots of new plants were going to be bought, I headed into the floral marquee where there was an array of stalls selling plants, trees and flowers. A favourite of mine are Acers, so I rejoiced at so many wonderful varieties being on display as I approached one particular stall. Eventually I settled for an Acer Palmatum, with its lovely pinky red leaves. The stall was run by the <a href="http://www.hippopotteringmaples.co.uk/">HippoPottering Nursery</a> and I thoroughly recommend checking out their range of Acers if you are into them.</p><p></p><p> </p><p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4609544621.jpg" width="460" height="818" alt="Bonsai" title="Bonsai"/></p> <p></p><p>Passing by some impressive Bonsai trees, I made my way out to towards the show gardens. Putting together a show garden is quite a feat to achieve. An incredible amount of meticulous planning, hard work and organisation goes into successfully creating show gardens and I had to admire the talent of those who managed to pull it off. A particular favourite of mine was the show garden created by <a href="http://villaggioverde.co.uk/">Villaggio Verde</a>. Their Mediterranean themed garden, with sun loungers, palm trees and a laid back feel took me back to my time in Ibiza exploring the beauty of the island. The other show gardens on display should be applauded, but there’s something about the Villaggio Verde garden that had the edge.</p><p></p><p>The rain soon began to pour down again so I ventured into the food hall to see what culinary delights were on offer. I was pleased to find a variety of food and drink on sale. From sausages and pies to crepes and parsnips in various forms, everything looked appealing. I opted for a steak and ale pie, but could have easily gone for anything.</p><p></p><p>As my day at the RHS Malvern Festival came to an end, I left feeling that it had been a five star event and I wholeheartedly recommend anyone interested in gardening or food making a weekend trip up to Malvern to see what all the fuss is about. And for those not so interested in gardening or food, you can always get your nails done, listen to some music at the ‘Busk Stop’, or amuse yourself by looking for rude plant names such as Euphorbia Knobelli.</p><p></p><p>The RHS Malvern Spring Festival runs daily until Sunday 11th May. </p><p>Find out more by visiting <a href="http://www.threecounties.co.uk/rhsmalvern">www.threecounties.co.uk/rhsmalvern</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> </p>