Spring Festival grows for all at Malvern

The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces by Jamie Langlands, lead designer at Oxford Garden Design

‘Gardening for Everyone’ is the key theme of the 2023 RHS Malvern Spring Festival at Three Counties Showground from 11 – 14 May, with this year’s much-anticipated collection of show and feature gardens set to appeal to a wide variety of people.

Show organisers are keen for visitors to feel enriched and inspired to make the most of their outside spaces, regardless of their gardening expertise and size of their plot, and for the event to maintain its reputation for welcoming both established and newer designers, and encouraging creative freedom. Visitors can look forward to a varied and eye-catching range of stunning RHS-judged show gardens that are classical, contemporary or conceptual in nature, alongside exciting experiential feature gardens from big names in the world of horticulture.

Multi-gold medal winner Peter Dowle of Leaf Creative in Huntley, Gloucestershire, will be transforming a giant 25m dome into Leaf Tropicana – a feature garden that promises visitors an opportunity to “step into a slice of paradise away from the hustle and bustle of the show”. Visitors will be transported to a tropical paradise containing waterfalls, bridges and immersive exotic planting, not to mention a tropical bar.

Award-winning designer Jon Wheatley will be presenting Grow, Gather and Sow, a feature garden which demonstrates how food and flowers can be grown in harmony at home, notwithstanding the amount of space available. It will feature a series of fruit trees surrounded by raised beds and containers planted with an array of vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruit. Jon, who runs Stonebarn Landscapes based in Chew Magna, has built more than 20 gold medal-winning RHS features.

Coast to Country is being created by the multi-gold medal winning team at Herefordshire-based tree specialist Villaggio Verde. This feature garden is designed to transport visitors to the seaside, with beach huts, a board walk and a wide range of plants that mimic the look and feel of the coast. Buy an ice cream, take a stroll down the boardwalk and relax on a deckchair as the harmonious sounds of a steel band conjure sunny climes.

Meanwhile, this year’s five show gardens will draw upon the work of great artists, wildlife-friendly features and sustainability.

Expression takes the early 20th Century avant-garde art movement known as Cubism, and in particular the use of triangles in many of Pablo Picasso’s paintings, as its inspiration. Stuart Bugby, senior designer at Helyers of Hampshire, has chosen a limited palette of plants and will be using them within this stunning outdoor living space. Helyers, which is sponsoring the garden, believes limited palettes will be a trend in 2023.

A wildlife-friendly theme can also be found in The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces garden by Jamie Langlands, lead designer at Oxford Garden Design. This will be a garden that’s beautiful to behold and great for the natural world, with its structure, topography, materials and planting playing a fundamental role in increasing biodiversity. Visitors will be able to see how wildlife habitats can be designed into the structure of a garden, using building waste, reclaimed material and untreated timbers. Wilder Spaces is sponsored by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and Future Nature WTC, the Trust’s ecological consultancy.

A pollinator-friendly garden for an environmentally-aware family lies at the heart of Rick Ford and Katie Gentle’s design for the Bees for Development ‘Bee Positive, Bee Kind, Be Aware’ garden. The space includes areas for relaxation, growing fruit and vegetables, keeping bees and cooking. The garden, sponsored by Monmouth-based Bees for Development, will contain a large number of pollinator-friendly flowers and make use of recycled and repurposed materials wherever possible.

The Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is set to provide a permanent home for Laura Ashton Phillips’ Greener Gloucestershire NHS Garden. Laura, widely known as The Botanic Blonde, wants to share the calming health benefits to be gained from being immersed in nature and the effect it has on patient recovery rates and the lowering of cortisol levels on those being treated as well as their families and the staff looking after them. The designer, who received a bronze medal for her debut Longcroft Press garden at the 2022 RHS Malvern Spring Festival, will be creating a wild, natural planting scheme that can be relocated to multiple areas of the hospital. Laura is passionate about working alongside nature, rather than trying to tame it, and much of her inspiration comes from the Forest of Dean, where she lives with her family. The garden is sponsored by Gloucestershire Managed Services and Gloucestershire County Council.

Family holidays in northwest Brittany are the inspiration for HomeAway Garden by Emily Crowley-Wroe. The Cotswold-based designer has come up with a romantic shared space for wildlife and people to enjoy and hopes visitors will be able to take home ideas for different methods of planting for drier situations and climates. She’s also keen to encourage gardeners to leave elements of a garden’s past and seemingly redundant materials to protect the habitats of wild creatures. HomeAway Garden is sponsored by Task Academy, a Midlands-based organisation that provides landscaping and land-based courses.

Alongside the five show gardens and three feature gardens, designers of the future will be showing off 10 fabulous ideas in the ever-popular school gardens section, the theme for which is ‘bring your favourite book to life’.

Jane Edwards, Head of Shows at Three Counties Showground, said: “Our gardens have been designed to provide enriching experiences for everyone, regardless of gardening expertise, and to celebrate spring planting, gardening and design.

We’re keen to inspire and nurture new and existing talent at the festival through a varied show programme that includes educational, motivating and interesting demonstrations and discussions by a host of experts in the theatres, and through the range of knowledgeable growers, retailers, designers and gardeners across the whole festival.”

Tickets for RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2023 start from just £25 (with under 16s free of charge). For full programme details and to book tickets, see https://www.rhsmalvern.co.uk/

--ENDS—

Notes to editors

For all media enquiries, interviews or quotes, please contact Rachel Jones at Encore PR – rachel.jones@encorepr.co.uk

General RHS Malvern Spring Festival images are available to download here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fryan8fbvu1m9ai/AACgD9AlBRDXm5iKVb2Fxm0Ta?dl=0

Designs for the 2023 show and feature gardens at RHS Malvern Spring Festival are available to download here: https://we.tl/t-fhEuDUmBuX

Further information about the RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2023 Show Gardens:

1. Expression

The early 20th Century avant-garde art movement known as Cubism, and in particular the use of triangles in many of Pablo Picasso’s paintings, is the inspiration for the Expression garden.

This contemporary show garden uses a series of vertical triangles that change perspective as visitors pass through them, and it explores a theme of ‘fragmentation’, with a pathway and raised beds made from broken copper slate paving. Meanwhile, a water feature at its heart will provide a reflective space for contemplation and creativity.

Helyers of Hampshire’s senior designer Stuart Bugby has chosen a limited palette of plants, something the garden design and installation company believes will be a trend in 2023. Some of the planting has been chosen to complement the black posts that provide architectural interest within the design and include Cordyline australis to match their height and Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, the dark foliage of which reflects their colour. Trachelospermum jasminoides has been selected to soften this hard landscaping feature. All of the plants used are being sourced from Hortisales.

The choice of materials include broken paving that would usually go to landfill and reclaimed wood.

“I am inspired by many forms of creativity and fusing the two together cohesively will hopefully inspire others,” says Stuart.

“Creativity comes in many forms and can cross over into many different areas. I would like visitors to be inspired to be creative and follow their passion.

“Paintings such as Mediterranean Landscape and Girl with a Boat are among Picasso’s paintings that make use of triangles, although much of his work finds its way back to some form of triangle, which is a key shape of strength and high value in many genres.

“Triangles are not just significant mathematically, they are also fundamental to the way we build our environments both virtual and physical. They are special, and their strength is unrivalled. We loved the idea that a simple shape can be identified with strength and beauty and this is weaved the whole way through our design and essentially the gardens we build.”

Helyers of Hampshire hopes that after the difficult times of the last few years, the time is right to inspire people back into nature and the world outside.

After RHS Malvern Spring Festival the garden will be relocated to the company’s office in Fareham.

Helyers of Hampshire is a family-run business. Husband and wife team Richard and Stacey Helyer have been at the helm for three decades, with Stuart joining the design team almost three years ago.

Stuart has been designing gardens for 10 years and prior to that spent 15 years running his own gardening maintenance business. He achieved a distinction when studying an RHS garden design diploma at Warwick University College’s Pershore College and was named the ‘Student of the Year’. More information: 01329 221 955 or 07787 114711.

2. The Wildlife Trusts: Wilder Spaces

‘Wilder Spaces’ is set to take wildlife-friendly gardening to a new level.

Jamie Langlands, lead designer from Oxford Garden Design, will create a garden that’s beautiful to behold and great for the natural world, with its structure, topography, materials and planting playing a fundamental role in increasing biodiversity for people and nature.

Visitors will be able to see how wildlife habitats can be designed into the structure of a garden, using building waste, reclaimed material and untreated timbers.

There will be a watercourse that meanders through the plot towards a central pond and a section of bog planting. A pavilion, designed in conjunction with Charlie Luxton, is to be constructed from reclaimed RSJs (rolled steel joists) and galvanised steel grating and topped with a living roof to provide a calm space to enjoy the diverse species living in the garden’s varied habitats.

Jamie will be using cultivated plants to provide pollen and nectar for insects and native plants that feed the larvae of butterflies, moths and other invertebrates. Key species will include hawthorn, ivy, nettles, blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris).

Trees, shrubs and perennials are being supplied by Hortus Loci and Jamie will also be using nurseries that specialise in native species.

Wilder Spaces is sponsored by The Wildlife Trusts, led by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and Future Nature WTC, BBOWT’s ecological consultancy. These organisations believe gardening has a place in helping nature into recovery and sees significant and lasting value both to wildlife and people.

“Nature is in crisis and not enough is being done to reverse this terrible decline in the UK’s biodiversity,” says Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive of BBOWT.

“We want to see 30% of land well managed for nature by 2030 and our gardens are a vital part of that wild jigsaw. Private gardens make up a bigger area than all of Britain’s nature reserves combined, so they are key to helping create more nature everywhere.”

Collectively, gardens are an enormous resource for wildlife, offering a mosaic of mini-habitats that support a diverse range of species.

“We want to see habitats designed into the fabric of buildings and the structure of gardens and features within them, in ways that support a huge range of species,” says Estelle.

“Wilder Spaces will show that any garden can have wildlife habitats at its heart, with recycled materials and nature-friendly planting, yet still be beautiful to look at and provide relaxing spaces in which to spend time.

“We believe that RHS Malvern Spring Festival will be a great opportunity to showcase to people everywhere what they can achieve in their own gardens for nature, for climate and for themselves.”

Sheena Marsh, owner and founder of Oxford Garden Design, which is providing the design and construction of the garden says, “We are delighted to be working with BBOWT on the Wilder Spaces Garden, bringing together our learnings from BBOWT with Jamie’s creativity. We hope that this garden will inspire home owners to create wilder spaces in their own gardens.”

Oxford Garden Design, with Jamie as designer, is returning to the RHS Malvern Spring Festival following its 2022 show garden.

Jamie has been interested in horticulture from an early age, with both his grandfather and mother firing his enthusiasm.

“Growing up in Dorset still influences my design style,” he says. “I love creating spaces that are wild and untamed whilst having a little wonder within them.”

Jamie studied fine art at Bournemouth Arts Institute, where he found himself predominantly painting landscapes and plants. This inspired him to study horticulture, completing his Royal Horticultural Society and National Certificate of Horticulture qualifications at Kingston Maurward College before becoming a garden designer.

“Having the opportunity to work with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust gives us the opportunity to showcase the amazing work they are doing improving the biodiversity and ecology within the local area. It also offers us the opportunity to showcase how to improve wildlife habitats within visitors’ own gardens,” he says.

Once the RHS Malvern Spring Festival is over, the garden will be distributed across various Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust sites and the seating will go to College Lake or Sutton Courtenay Education Centre Wildlife Gardens.

For more information about the garden contact Sheena Marsh 01993 813721 sheena@oxfordgardendesign.co.uk

More information: Lis Speight on 07887 574838 or lisspeight@bbowt.org.uk

3. Bees for Development: Bee Positive, Bee Kind, Be Aware

A pollinator-friendly garden for an environmentally-aware family lies at the heart of Rick Ford and Katie Gentle’s design for the Bees for Development ‘Bee Positive, Bee Kind, Be Aware’ garden.

The space includes areas for relaxation, growing fruit and vegetables, keeping bees and cooking.

The garden, sponsored by Monmouth-based Bees for Development, will contain lots of pollinator-friendly flowers and make use of recycled and repurposed materials wherever possible.

Key features of the garden include a reclaimed scaffold pergola with a green roof that will accommodate the kitchen, reclaimed wooden seating by the bee hives, still water in an upcycled trough and raised vegetable beds.

The garden will be bordered by hawthorn hedges and planted with a mix of pollen-rich plants including foxgloves, fennel and thyme. There will be three trees providing habitats for insects.

All the items used for the garden will be repurposed for future garden projects.

Rick Ford is based in Weston-Super-Mare, where he runs Gardens by Rick Ford. He took part in the RHS Malvern Spring Festival in 2008 and 2022, being awarded silver-gilt medals on both occasions.

Katie Gentle is based in Exeter, Devon, where he runs her garden maintenance and design business ‘Katie Gentle Garden Design’. Katie has over 25 years’ experience in horticulture.

Bees for Development is an international charity working to alleviate poverty through beekeeping.

More information: info@rick-ford.com or 07730 111203 and Katie Gentle 07748 408055 or katie@katiegentlegardens.co.uk.

4. Greener Gloucestershire NHS Garden

The Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is set to provide a permanent home for Laura Ashton Phillips’ second garden for the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

Laura, widely known as The Botanic Blonde, wants Greener Gloucestershire NHS Garden to share the calming health benefits to be gained from being immersed in nature and the effect it has on patient recovery rates and the lowering of cortisol levels on those being treated as well as their families and the staff looking after them.

“I am inspired by the calming effects I experience walking in The Forest of Dean and wanted to bring a little of this into hospital grounds,” explains Laura.

“Birdsong is clinically proven to reduce cortisol levels and fractal patterns calm racing minds, which is why I have included multiple leaf shapes and plant structures.

“This will be a natural, slightly wild garden away from the uniform, clinical environment of a hospital.”

Laura, who received a bronze medal for her debut ‘Longcroft Press’ garden in 2022, will be creating a wild, natural planting scheme that can be relocated to multiple areas of the hospital.

A large verdigris dome hanging from the rear boundary will act as a focal point for her design and the planting will provide year-round interest, with hornbeam, silver birch, acer and climbing hydrangea providing vertical structure and a mix of native and ornamental plants, including Hosta ‘Florence Nightingale’ adding colour and form.

Birch and hazel wood is being used for the fencing and fallen tree trunks will provide a refuge for beetles, while seating will be made from pennant stone from the Forest of Dean. The garden will be suitable for those using mobility aids.

Laura, who is based in Littledean in the Forest of Dean, is the grounds manager and garden designer for the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Friends, family and volunteers will be helping with the build and volunteers from the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital will help with the planting. The garden is sponsored by Gloucestershire Managed Services and Gloucestershire County Council.

More information: laura@thebotanicblonde.com or 07453 428062.

5. HomeAway Garden

Family holidays in northwest Brittany are the inspiration for HomeAway Garden by Emily Crowley-Wroe.

The Cotswolds-based designer has come up with a shared space for wildlife and people to enjoy and hopes visitors will be able to take home ideas for different methods of planting for drier situations and climates.

She’s also keen to encourage gardeners to leave elements of a garden’s past and seemingly redundant materials to encourage wildlife.

Emily’s vision is a once neglected garden that’s been transformed into a second home retreat. It’s set against the backdrop of the remains of an old storage barn where cats hide out, swallows nest and lizards rest.

The design draws upon the landscape beyond and includes a central seating area inspired by a nearby town, planted stony areas that nod to rocky coastal headlands with their cliff-hanging plants, and dusty pathways flanked by tough plants found along dunes and coastal pathways. Formal and domestic gardens found in Brittany and France are echoed in the formal layout of paths and hedges and the blending of coastal hues and exotic planting.

Special points of interest will include metal sculptures of Agave plants, a hand-crafted day bed and a reclaimed barn door. There will be a number of exotic and coastal and drought-tolerant plants, including the yucca-leaved beschorneria (Beschorneria yuccoides), various agaves, Trachycarpus fortuneii, rock dwelling Crithmum maritimum and fennel, along with four feature trees.

Emily, who runs April House Garden Design based in Bourton-on-the-Water, says her garden would be able to cope without water for extended periods of time.

“The design is about reading the landscapes around us to see what can survive harsh, testing conditions and translating that into our own gardens, creating micro-gardens for plants to thrive,” she explains.

“The barn section recalls the outbuildings at my family home. It acknowledges the importance of habitat protection in old or established garden settings. Working with ruins as part of garden design/landscaping in whatever way we can impact positively on the environment.”

Emily became interested in garden design after buying her first home, which had gardens with potential for improvement.

Her style is inspired by natural spaces and places and a desire to translate an emotional connection to them.

Emily is currently involved in a number of projects, including the partial redesign of a country garden to incorporate a wildlife pond and sunken garden inspired by Mediterranean landscapes and a new build plot with open views across wet meadows.

HomeAway Garden is sponsored by Task Academy, a Midlands-based organisation that provides landscaping and land-based courses.