The Royal Horticulture Society

The Royal Horticulture Society is an institution in the UK - a country that loves its gardens.  Not only are there RHS gardens but they put on prestigious garden shows around the country every year, have initiatives such as Britain in Bloom and It’s Your Neighbourhood and have partner gardens.  The purpose of the organization is to enrich everyone’s life through plants and to make the UK greener and more beautiful.  Their motto is to inspire, involve, inform and improve.

The four RHS gardens are Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire, Hyde Hall in Essex, Rosemoor in Devon and Wisley in Surrey.  A new garden is being added in 2019 - Bridgewater in Greater Manchester.  There is an annual pass for RHS that you can purchase and then visit the gardens all year.  Every garden has a cafe and a gift shop.

The first garden show of the season has already taken place.  It was the RHS Cardiff earlier this month from April 7-9th.  However, don’t feel that you have missed out as there is so much to come!  There is one in a few weeks from May 11-14.  This is the Malvern Spring show.  They will have school gardens and events for families on the weekend.  Sixty -nine nurseries are taking part.  This takes place at the Three Counties show ground near the rail station Great Malvern and the M5 and M 50 motorways.

The main event in May is the most famous show - The Royal Chelsea Flower show which always takes place  near the end of May in the grounds of the Chelsea Pensioners home.  The dates this year are May 23-27th.  The BBC has an hour long program from there each day so if you can’t go you can get a good idea of the imaginative work that is done by the participants.  To attend is a treat.  Everything to do with gardening is there from garden furniture, floral arrangements, the newest plants and the most novel garden designs.  

In June there are 2 shows.  The first one is June 7th-10th at Chatsworth near Bakewell, Derbyshire.  This year they have teamed up with Wedgwood.  These are magnificent grounds to see.  Then from June 23-25th is the RHS Harlow Carr garden show.  The garden is near Harrogate and during the show there will be a park and ride service from Harrogate Rugby Union Football Club which everyone is to use unless disabled.

In July is the popular Hampton Park show (July 4-9).  It is on a smaller scale than Chelsea but much loved and always well attended in the grounds of the famous palace.  The second garden show in July is the RHS Tatton from July 19-23rd which is held at Tatton Park in Knutsford, Cheshire.  This year they are searching for a Young Landscape Designer and a Young Landscape Contractor.

In August will be the first ever RHS Rosemoor from the 18th-20th.  They will be highlighting quality plants and delicious food as well as being able to showcase this garden at this time of year.  You can reach them by heading towards Bideford and then towards Great Torrington.

This is followed by the RHS Wisley and the Malvern Autumn shows both in September.  Wisley is from Sept 5-10th and the Malvern Autumn is on Sept 23rd and 24th. Wisley is advertised as one of the world’s greatest gardens.  There is a large lake inside and a conservatory.  They will be hosting the National Dahlia Society Annual Show.  The Malvern Autumn show always has plenty for families to enjoy and lots of food.

From April to October the RHS also hosts 7 London shows this year.  Check out their website for more information.

As usual, the RHS will be living up to their motto to inspire, involve, inform and improve in 2017.  There is so much to look forward to in the coming months.