Just weeks after the disappointment of the RHS Malvern Spring Festival cancellation, the Three Counties has announced a new event for gardeners and confirmed the go-ahead of their autumn show.
The Midsummer Garden Life Festival will take place on June 23 and 24 with a range of specialist nurseries and expert talks.
Meanwhile, the Malvern Autumn Show will take place as planned, despite the clash with the rearranged RHS Chelsea Show, and may be extended to run longer than the scheduled two days.
With midsummer falling on its second day, The Midsummer Garden Life Festival has taken Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as its theme and is being described as ” an enchanting cultural celebration of plants, nature and creativity”.
As well as numerous specialist nurseries, there will be drama, music, poetry and talks in the open air theatre. Organisers are also hand-picking artisan retailers and food outlets. In addition, they hope to have some feature gardens for visitors to enjoy.
The Malvern Autumn Show, currently due to be held on September 25 and 26, has had so many inquiries from nurseries wanting to take part, there may be extra dates added to ensure as many people as possible can attend.
Among the nurseries will be Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants, which last week announced it would not be taking part in the autumn RHS Chelsea.
Rosy and Rob Hardy had planned to ‘retire’ from Chelsea in 2020 with their largest ever display. They have won 24 gold medals in nearly 30 years at the show.
Their swansong was postponed until this year but the new move to September has proved impossible with the nursery unable to switch its planting plan from spring to autumn. Instead, they will be at the Malvern Autumn Show.
Covid restrictions mean both Malvern events will be run very differently to the usual shows with no floral marquee. Instead, nurseries will be in individual stands, along the lines of the successful Malvern Plant and Garden Fair last year. (Read my report here.)
Visitor numbers will also be restricted to allow for social distancing on the Three Counties Showground.
Di Walton, Head of Shows, said: “One of the few positives to come from the Lockdown in Spring 2020, was the huge growth in the number of people getting out and enjoying nature and their gardens.
“We have learnt a great deal about providing a crowd-free event and we look forward to welcoming visitors to the Three Counties Showground in June and in September in celebration of all the beauty and magic that these two seasons have to offer.”
Tickets for the events will go on sale on the Three Counties website in the coming weeks.
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