Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Malvern

Sandy Felton visits the Three Counties Showground for the RHS Spring Gardening Show at Malvern.

It was our first visit to Malvern so we were unsure what to expect. Certainly, the Spring Gardening Show is a favourite with the many gardening personalities who visit the show and with more than 90,000 visitors expected over four days it's obviously a favourite with the rest of us as well.

Malvern is the first major show in the gardening calendar and 2007 is its 22nd year. The Three Counties Showground is set in picturesque surroundings with the backdrop of the lovely Malvern Hills. There was plenty of space to walk around and enjoy everything the show has to offer – which is a lot.

When you visit a show for the first time it’s always a quandary where to go first – we decided on the show gardens, no surprises there.

The Borders Without Gardens - designed to offer colleges and new designers the opportunity to design a border for the show – we found particularly interesting. Warwickshire College had stunning displays with The Jewelled Box and Emerald & Diamonds (Silver). The Jewelled Box used Alchemilla, Buxus, Clematis and Euphorbia to give a stunning backdrop to the Alliums and Tulips that provided a feast of colour (pictured below). Emerald & Diamonds invited us to savour a practical border with hardy and moisture happy planting that could be sustained over time. Two delightful gardens.

Also in this section the dynamic Casino Royale 7 garden, - Inspire Gardens - based on the recent James Bond film, (Silver-Gilt) exploded in a profusion of purples and mauve.

In the Show Gardens section, The Rainbow Garden by Sally Leaney Garden Design, (Silver-Gilt) was a sheer delight and set to brighten up any dull periods that the unsettled weather might have thrown up (pictured left).

Sally, a graduate of the John Brookes School of Garden Design, chose light and water as her essential elements of life, to combine something truly magical – and it was – a sheer celebration of colour.

Pershore College's 'Composure' Elgar’s 21st Century Garden celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Edward Elgar. Students from the college also designed and built 'Courtyard Renaissance' – an ornamental courtyard garden influenced by Italian and Japanese garden design concepts.

Best in Show went to Chris Beardshaw's traditional Victorian Bothy garden, which attracted large crowds throughout our visit. This was The Three Counties Show Garden (Gold) in association with Adcote School for Girls and Malvern Spring Gardening Show and set out to demonstrate a typical homestead inhabited by a modest working class family of the mid 1800s. Delightful and interesting.

During the show Chris announced the establishment of a new year-long apprenticeship scheme in conjunction with the RHS and the Three Counties Agricultural Society. Both experienced and up-and-coming garden designers, creating a display garden for the 2008 Malvern Spring Show will be invited to apply for the scheme. The individual who puts forward the best business case, proves they have got what it takes and makes the greatest impression on the judging panel, can look forward to a 12 month apprenticeship with Chris.

Floral Tent - offered wonderful delights

The Show Gardens over it was then off to the Wye Hall with its handmade crafts and the Royal National Rose Society's late spring show – heaven.

The Malvern Floral Marquee was a riot of spring colour with some magnificent displays of tulips.

I managed to buy a Victorian seed rake - having searched for one for over five years this was indeed a treasured find - and was highly entertained by a lovely man - Tom Elliott - on the Hosta and Hemerocallis Society stand, who gave me the low-down on combating public enemy number one - the slug.

We couldn't put a finger on why Malvern was somehow different to other shows. Was it the lovely backdrop of the hills? Was it the laid-back country feel to everything? Was it the sheer quantity of good nurseries and plants people selling unusual varieties? We didn’t know but perhaps it was the fact that people wanted to talk to you, and I mean talk to you, not just the hello and good morning stuff.

Everyone seemed to engage you in conversation and the sheer pleasure of being out in the open looking at plants and gardens, sampling delicate cheeses and of course sipping some very delicious ciders, all seemed to add to the atmosphere.

We found everyone very friendly – nothing pretentious, no pomp just a nice relaxed day in convivial surroundings and perhaps that’s the secret of Malvern’s success.