There’s plenty of colour in the 2019 RHS Malvern gardens, which is just as well given the weather. I spent a day dodging showers and looking at this year’s crop of designs.
The Malvern Spring Festival has a growing reputation and this year has attracted two overseas designers – one from Ukraine and one from South Africa – as well as featuring a Russian designer’s work as part of an exchange scheme with the Moscow Flower Show.
In a break with tradition, although the medals have been announced, the Best in Show won’t be unveiled until the show opens to the public tomorrow.
Unsurprisingly, given his track record, Peter Dowle’s garden is my favourite and it won gold. Exhibiting under the Leaf Creative banner – the name of his new garden venture at Huntley – he has produced his familiar mix of water, rocks and beautiful planting but this time with a contemporary feel.
The garden is again the setting for a striking sculpture by Simon Gudgeon, a ballerina made of leaves who seems to float above the reflective pool.
Those with show garden experience know to incorporate somewhere to shelter from whatever the British weather throws at them and this glass-fronted pavilion is perfect.
Peter has also made the most of the location, incorporating the Malvern Hills into his design.
Sebastian Conrad made his Malvern debut in 2018 in the Green Living Spaces category. This year, he’s working with Kate Rees and their show garden ‘What If In Support of Rees Foundation’, is designed to reflect an artist’s developing ideas. It is another gold medal winner.
Olive specialists Villaggio Verde are known for evoking Mediterranean landscapes with their Malvern gardens and this year it’s Spain. ‘The Orange Express’ is based on fruit production by a cooperative of growers. The accent colour may be orange but the medal is gold.
I really liked this small show garden by Karen Tatlow and Katherine Hathaway, which aims to raise awareness of diabetes. The formality of the topiary and hard landscaping are beautifully contrasted with soft planting. It also has a fun water feature with jets of water that work on a timer, symbolising the frequency of diagnosis of diabetes. It won silver-gilt.
The work of Macmillan Cancer Support is highlighted in Gary Bristow’s garden. It’s made up of a series of smaller planted areas, and I particularly liked the warm planting in this section. It also won silver-gilt.
‘Grace & Dignity’ by Lucie Giselle Ponsford, which won a silver medal, explores the importance of gardens to individuals as a way of creating beauty and overcoming life’s problems. This unusual seat caught my eye.
This year’s Malvern theme is ‘Through the Lens’, inspired by the 180th anniversary of the discovering of how to create photographic images. ‘The Redshift’ show garden by Julie Bellingham celebrates the role of the telescope and its role in our exploration of the universe. The combination of colours with orange geums against the rusty metal is particularly good. It won silver.
‘The Mindset’ is a concept garden by Ukrainian designer Anna Galagan, which aims to make us think about our throwaway culture. Two halves, one grey and the other flower-filled, make up this garden. This striking design pleased the judges and won gold.
Alongside the Malvern gardens are Green Living Spaces, mentored by RHS Ambassador Jamie Butterworth, and designed to give inspiration for those with only small spaces for growing.
Jessica Makins, with help from Stephanie Tudor, was inspired by Georgia O’Keefe’s studio for her design. It was my favourite and won gold.
The floral of her native South Africa was the starting point for Stacey Bright’s design, which got a silver medal.
There are some interesting ways of using planters on Sara Edwards’ design for an urban balcony. It won a gold medal.
Home is also the inspiration for Anastasia Yakovleva’s ‘Memories of Home’. It is designed for a Russian couple who are working in Europe and missing home. Anastasia is exhibiting at Malvern as part of an exchange with the Moscow Flower Show and won a silver medal.
And ‘Mediterranean Terrace’ by Gabriella Pill, which won silver-gilt, aims to give a summer holiday feel to a small outdoor space. It was certainly a welcome summer feel on what was a very soggy day.
The weather is set to improve over the next few days and there is certainly plenty to see.
“The forecast is getting better and better by the hour,” said Diana Walton, head of shows, “but with so much infrastructure here on the showground, it is never a problem anyway.
“We’re hoping the show will inspire and delight everyone.”
• The RHS Malvern Spring Festival opens on Thursday May 9 and runs until Sunday May 12. For details of opening hours, what’s at the show and tickets, visit the website.
You can read about the plants and flowers I discovered at RHS Malvern here.
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