After a season of cancelled flower shows, the Malvern Plant and Garden Fair is a welcome announcement.
A plant fair bringing together some of the country’s top nurseries will be held at the Three Counties Showground this autumn.
It replaces the Malvern Autumn Show, which, like the spring festival, was cancelled due to coronavirus.
The Malvern Plant and Garden Fair will run be held on September 12 and 13 and is being described as a ‘plant-lover’s and gardener’s oasis’.
After a year that has seen every major event at the showground cancelled and staff put on furlough, Head of Shows Di Walton said they were excited about welcoming visitors back.
“It’s just fantastic to get the team back together again, and be planning a real live event because, however fantastic the virtual show was, we’ve missed the interaction, the support and the love of all our exhibitors and visitors.”
In order to comply with Government regulations, the plant fair will have a very different feel to the usual autumn show.
There will be no indoor exhibits or floral marquee. Instead, the more than 50 nurseries expected to attend will be spaced out on the showground under open-sided canopies and there will be social distancing and one-way systems in place.
The number of visitors will also be capped at a lower than usual number and tickets will be sold in advance. Di believes that along with the 90-acre size of the showground, this will ensure plenty of room. The Gold Parking zone is also being moved so that even more of the showground can be used and the toilets have been reconfigured to create one-way systems.
“The whole thing is going to feel different,” says Di. It’s going to feel spacious, it’s going to feel calm it’s going to feel peaceful.”
Among the nurseries attending are Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants, heuchera specialists Plantagogo, Pheasant Acre Plants, Leaf Creative with acers, Tyning Climbers and Fibrex Nurseries.
Hoyland Plant Centre will be bringing plants from their National Collections of agapanthus, clivia and tulbaghia along with nerines and amarines. They are also planning some special offers
“We are very excited,” said Heather from the family firm. “We can’t wait to bring our fantastic plants to the show and look forward to seeing many of our much-missed friends and customers. It has been a difficult year but the show must go on!”
In addition, the fair will have gardening trade stands, stalls by local food producers, music, and takeaway food, although people can also take picnics.
Leading florist Jonathan Moseley will be demonstrating how to make the most of the season’s blooms.
“I’m delighted to be returning to the stunning Three Counties Showground to bring a little bit of floral cheer as we celebrate the colours, textures and dramatic forms of autumnal plant materials,” said Jonathan.
He praised the team for their proactive approach, which he described as typical of the “wonderful and unique Malvern spirit”.
Jon Wheatley will be providing his popular display of dahlias and there will be open-air talks on how to grow by gardening experts.
The finer details of the plant fair are still being worked out, such as whether there will be a ‘don’t touch unless you’re buying’ rule on plants, but already the showground has been awarded ‘We’re Good to Go’ accreditation by Visit England, showing that it meets Government and public health COVID-19 guidelines.
Meanwhile, the team are having a ‘test run’ with a smaller event this weekend. ‘Showground Saturday’ on July 25 will allow people to walk their dogs and picnic on the site. There will be a small local market, some ride-on pedal tractors for children and a novelty dog show. Tickets are available on the website.
Di is confident the plant fair will be welcomed by gardeners: “It’s a great time to plant and it’s a great time to plan. We know everybody’s been loving their outdoor spaces and I think everybody’s now got great ambitions for what they can do themselves in their gardens. They can come along and speak to the experts and buy the beautiful plants.”
More information about the Malvern Plant and Garden Fair will be available on the website.
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OMG! Thank you, thank you, thank you. My year is geared around flower shows and orchid shows, so this year has been a desert for me. I can’t wait for this.
I think it’s going to be very popular. So many of us have missed the flower shows.