Malvern RHS Spring Festival 2015

I love this RHS show it has a lovely low key feel with space to move around and of course that ever present superb back drop of the Malvern Hills.  The joy of any garden show, like a good farmers' market, is you get to talk to the growers and designers and benefit from sharing their wonderful experience and knowledge first hand. There is also so much inspiration in the show gardens they deserve time and space to mull over and absorb and at Malvern you can do this without having to dodge heads in the crowds as you would for other larger RHS shows.

The view from the car park!

Space to move.

Inspiration in the floral marquee and indoor arenas.

I'm not a great fan of indoor plants I just have a select few, but I couldn't stop staring at these fascinating 'beasts' from the gold medal winners Dibleys.

Move away from the tulips Anne-Marie!

To Mr Russell, thank you for your hand written labels for each of your lovely entries!

So sweet and worthy of first prize for the lily-of-the-valley entry. Mine in the walled garden are only just starting to turn from green to white.

The Auriculas are always irresistible in garden shows. This mustard one is a beaut.

The show gardens.

The Mad Hatter garden by Gary Bristow.

And the left hand side of the Mad Hatter garden.

Budding horticulturalists in the Out of Darkness garden with a beautiful Klimit inspired moss 'Tree of Life'.

Moss seats in Lisa Burchill and Robin Ideson's Out of Darkness garden.

Mindfulness garden.

The Bees Knees garden.

Constraining Nature garden by Kate Durr.

Just love taking time to absorb the dreamy planting combinations of all these wonderfully talented garden designers, inspiring!

The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lorna Davis Designs.

All the gardens were so, so wonderful, but this garden, well, it stopped me in my tracks ... just wishing I could fill that empty bench.

Tulip Rococo

'Rococo' - a period in history known for it’s asymmetric designs and sumptuous curves.
What better name for this wonderful extremely asymmetric, fascinating and dynamic parrot tulip. This was my first love in the genre of parrot tulips and although over the years tastes change, my enthusiasm for this bold beauty has not waned and its dominant presence in the cutting garden still makes me smile. I love its dynamic Jekyll and Hyde quality, its change from tight green gnarled bud to its loud open announcement of bright red. Here are a few images to share from this year's harvest.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4

From green to red, just wonderful.