MORE than 100,000 visitors are expected to descend on the Three Counties Showground for the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

The four-day event kicks off the RHS show season from Tuesday, May 11 to Friday, May 14 and promises exciting new features, unique experiences and quirky highlights.

The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Gardening for Everyone’ and, in celebration of this, many new areas, stages and features have been added to make gardening and horticulture open and accessible to all.

Sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices are also being encouraged.

Malvern Gazette: There are spectacular show gardens at the festivalThere are spectacular show gardens at the festival (Image: RHS)

A brand-new Planet Friendly Gardening ‘3P Free’ Zone (Plastic, Pesticide and Peat free), created by Edibleculture, will give visitors the opportunity to trade in plastic pots from plants bought at the festival for a compostable and plantable version, for free.

All plastic pots collected at the festival will be recycled.

A new Bloom & Grow Area will provide handy tips on growing vegetables, flowers, herbs and other edible plants at home or in an allotment, plus the chance to create your own lip balm or hand cream under the expert guidance of Cotswold Remedies.

The brand-new Tips & Tricks Area will be the place to go to learn how to creatively upcycle or reuse items to make stylish features for your own outdoor space, plus lots of handy cost-saving and sustainability tips.

The new Tips & Tricks Theatre will be hosted by skilled designer/upcycler and TV presenter Max McMurdo, who will demonstrate how to make a hydroponic herb planter at home.

READ MORE: What's on at Three Counties Showground throughout 2023?

Max will be joined throughout the weekend by horticultural content creator Adam Kirtland (View from the Potting Bench) who will be demonstrating some handy garden DIY using just a wooden pallet, while Rupert Keys from TASK Academy (leading landscaping industry trainers) will share clever tips on how to use rainwater in your outdoor space. 

This year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival charity partner is St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester.

In celebration of this year’s focus on sustainability, St Richard’s has been running a campaign to collect unwanted garden tools to be upcycled and their finished creations will be on sale at the festival, alongside a selection of outdoor furniture, garden and cookery books, garden wear, plants and pots.

Any revenue raised from RHS Malvern Spring Festival-owned items in Sunday’s 4pm sell-off will also be donated to the charity.

For the full line-up or to book tickets head to rhsmalvern.co.uk