These are the best garden shows and festivals to visit in 2020

Posted on by Caitlin Marsh

Put a date in your diary to visit these inspiring and informative plant-filled shows and events.

If you’re looking for inspiration, colour, or just a lovely day out, there are plenty of flower shows and other horticultural events to mark on your calendar this year.

Here’s a look at some of the best and brightest gardening shows and festivals on the line-up for 2020…

Daffodil delights

To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of William Wordsworth, four main RHS gardens, Wisley, Rosemoor, Harlow Carr and Hyde Hall, have planted enough bulbs to make each spring garden a sight to behold.

Meanwhile, in Buckinghamshire, Cliveden is staging its daffodil spectacular The Gilded Gardens (Feb 29-May 1) for the second year.

Inspired by the 24-carat gilded golden gates on the Sounding chamber and the hundreds of thousands of daffodils across the estate, you’ll be able to see narcissi springing up throughout March and April and rolling displays of rarer, pot-grown varieties will be on show in the Ferneries. For details visit nationaltrust.org.uk.

Irish blooms

If you’re in Dublin, don’t miss Bloom (May 28-June 1), a show spanning 70 acres of Phoenix Park, with show gardens and other attractions based on other successful shows such as Chelsea and Hampton Court.

Launched in 2007 by Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board), Bloom has numerous highly creative gardens and plant displays which are used to inspire and excite the public about gardening and garden design.

The show gardens, created by some of Ireland’s top garden designers, are the heart and soul of the five-day festival which not only focuses on flowers but also on the best food Ireland has to offer. For details visit bloominthepark.com.

Scottish celebration

The Think Plastic exhibition provides food for thought (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh/PA)

This year, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is celebrating its 350th birthday with a year of community celebrations. Don’t miss the exhibition Think Plastic (Jan 31-Apr 26), which brings together local artists and scientists to explore the possibilities of transferring sustainable, recyclable and environmentally-responsible plastics from the laboratory into craft and arts productions.

Garden party and giant veg

Giant veg at Malvern Autumn Show (Stuart Purfield/Three Counties Showground/PA)

The Malvern Shows (Spring Festival, May 7-10; Autumn Show, Sep 26-27) in Worcester should be on every gardener’s calendar. The RHS Malvern Spring Festival celebrates its 35th anniversary this year with a new feature, Music At Malvern, with two spectacular evenings of performances featuring the 54-piece English Symphony Orchestra led by Lesley Garrett, performing a special VE Day commemorative concert on May 8.

The following night, Radio 2’s Jo Whiley will be hosting the Gardeners’ Party as she plays music throughout the decades, chosen by the show’s special guests. This will be along with the show’s stellar lineup of experts, including Alan Titchmarsh, Carol Klein, Joe Swift, Jonathan Moseley and the new show ambassador, Chris Beardshaw.

In the autumn show, grow-your-own fans shouldn’t miss the ever-popular popular CANNA UK National Giant Vegetables Championship, top quality plant specialists in the Floral Marquee and a throwback to Forties and Fifties Britain in the Vintage Village. For details visit rhs.org.uk.

Northern show-stopper

The Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate (Jul 14-16), an iconic three-day event and one of the biggest agricultural shows in the English calendar, features spectacular nursery displays, including several RHS Gold medal-winning exhibitors from far and wide. This year the show will be welcoming back floral designer and celebrity florist Jonathan Moseley, who will be appearing daily on the Garden stage, creating some fantastic displays. For details visit greatyorkshireshow.co.uk.

Chelsea perfection

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It’s the week of the Chelsea Flower Show in London….and I’m going to take a few moments to remember a selection of gardens I’ve created there over the years. The show is a special place for me, it gave me a voice and allowed me to pursue dreams beyond anything I’d ever imagined. It’s always a mixed bag….beauty, tradition and craft combined with a lust for medals which restricts creativity and feeds ego. There’s parts which I adore, and parts which repel. However I’ve waded in and had some fun, creating and making mistakes. These photos are from the Irish Sky Garden a number of years ago. Inspired by the greenery of my home country I used buxus and taxus pincushion mounds to echo moss cover boulders I’d seen framing a mountain stream in Sligo. #chelseaflowershow #irishskygarden #green #showgardens #rhschelseaflowershow #rhs #gardening #gardendesign #spring

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It’s considered the most elite gardening show on the calendar, and this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show is targeting the challenges of our changing climate. Gardens will highlight the future of cities in the face of climate emergency, while there will also be a slant on sustainable materials and growing methods adopted by the world’s leading garden designers and growers. Running from May 19-23, for details visit rhs.org.uk.

TV expert advice

Meet Monty Don at this year's BBC Gardeners' World Live (Jason Ingram/BBC Gardeners' World Live/PA)

BBC Gardeners’ World Live at Birmingham’s NEC (Jun 18-21) may be a more commercial show than some of its rivals, but it packs a punch with its top-notch TV gardening experts, including Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh, who’ll be offering advice in the GW Live theatre during the show.

Visitors can admire a range of innovative show gardens and bag a bargain from the many plants and accessories outlets. Less for the specialist, more for the practical gardener, you can bag yourself some bargain plants and get advice on how to grow them too. For details visit bbcgardenersworldlive.com.

Flower power

If you want to see a riot of colour, book your ticket for the Wisley Flower Show at the RHS flagship garden (Sep 8-13), where you will see an array of spectacular blooms, feast your eyes on the National Dahlia Society Show and browse the offerings from more than 50 specialist nurseries selling a range of horticultural goodies.

Learn how to make gorgeous flower arrangements from the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies and enjoy talks and demonstrations in an Expert Zone. For details visit rhs.org.uk.

Orchid mania

Orchid mania at Kew Gardens Orchid Festival (Jeff Eden/Royal Botanic Gardens Kew/PA)

Kew’s 25th annual Orchid Festival (Feb 8-Mar 8) will for the first time celebrate the incredible wildlife and vibrant culture of Indonesia – an archipelago of more than 17,504 islands, including Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, Papua and Bali. Indonesia’s landscape is as diverse as the flora and fauna that inhabit it, from tropical rainforests to spectacular volcanoes.

The festival features an immersive journey through the different zones of the glasshouse, where visitors will find spectacularly beautiful orchid displays which each represent an aspect of Indonesian wildlife and culture. For details visit kew.org.

Festival fever

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And for the last day of #rhshamptoncourtpalacegardenfestival2019 , here’s the last section of the @bbcspringwatch garden. This garden is for those who are time-poor but who still want their garden to be a haven for wildlife: I’ve used this idea in so many ‘real’ gardens over the years and wanted to show a way that it could be used in your own ‘real’ garden. Wildflower turf (thank you @lindumturf) is punctuated by some manicured topiary (thank you @archiplants) to give the feeling that there’s a tiny bit of control. Mow a path through this up to a terrace (made beautiful by the brilliant @selinalake -thank you and @sarahjanelane xx) where you can enjoy a cup of tea or a G & T – your choice! ? Wildflower areas are so easy to maintain – a cut once or maybe twice a year and that’s it- honestly. To zhoosh them up, I introduce here and there perennials which I know will stand an excellent chance of survival amongst the wild flowers. Everyone’s happy: the garden user, the birds, insects and mammals. Job done ? Another extra-big thank you to @raewarne ? . . . . #rhshampton #gardenlove #wildflowermeadow #wildgarden #naturewatch #springwatch #gardenwatch @the_rhs #hamptoncourtflowershow #rhshamptoncourt #bees? #I love bees #lookaftertheplanet #gardeningforwildlife #familygarden #smallgarden #smallgardenideas #gardentips #tradgardsinspo #jardins #giardini #paysagistes #loveyourgarden #urbangarden #citygarden #gardeningmadeeasy #simplegarden #easygardening

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The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Garden Festival (July 7-12) rebranded itself as a ‘Garden Festival’ in 2019 and remains high on the list of go-tos among gardeners for its royal setting, show gardens, floral marquees and trade stands, to buy everything from artisan goods to basic tools.

From contemporary to traditional, its show gardens will be awash with ideas on how to revitalise green spaces, while plants people, celebrities and foodies will be making guest appearances. For details visit rhs.org.uk.

Bulb bonanza

Brighten up your day with a visit to the RHS Flower Show Cardiff (Apr 17-19) to see thousands of beautiful spring bulbs. This year, the show is celebrating its 15th anniversary and to mark the occasion some 15 exhibitors that have had a presence at every show will be there.

The event will also tie in with the Visit Wales theme, the Year of Outdoors. Health and wellbeing will be much promoted at the show, displaying the benefits of of being outside and connecting with the natural world. For details visit rhs.org.uk.

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