The Malvern Spring Gardening Show

The Malvern Spring Gardening Show celebrates its 25 year anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion, a large show garden style feature is currently being constructed by a small design team comprising claire potter design, Alex Bell Garden Design and Jim Steed of Outdoor Living Space.

The garden is currently being constructed, with the show running from 6th to 9th May (photos of the garden coming then too). The garden will then stay in situ until the Three Counties Show from June 18th to 20th. It is possible that the garden will also be open in between to visitors through the National Gardening Scheme, but this is yet to be confirmed and finalised.

The main concept is based on Malvern as a central 'origin point' from which ripples of influence have spread over the past 25 years into the wider design and horticultural world. The centre is marked by a 7m diameter paved circle with a central water feature which begins a series of sculpted 'ripples'. The first of these ripples is covered in wild flower turf and encloses the paved circle to create a mini amphitheatre with a cantilevered perimeter oak bench.

The ripples then spread across the whole space, formed in turf and planting, crossing through the two distinct halves of the garden. The top half of the garden is rurally based, and marks the agricultural background of the showground by using wild cherries, beehives and swathes of grass. The visitor path enters from this half, walking on a paved surface under an avenue of trees directly towards the 'origin point' circle.

After reaching the centre of the circle, the visitors leave through another path, towards the modern, floral aspect of the lower half of the space, marking the direction Malvern has grown into.

This modern half contains large swathes of herbaceous planting in ripples and a large granite pool reflecting both the materials and the spring water of Malvern. The two halves of the garden are split by a contemporary wall constructed from steel and willow representing the 'present' as a timeline, which has strictly measured gaps to allow visitors to view the central water sculpture, and thus Malvern itself from different points in the 'future' half.

Plants list

Click any of the plant names below to read more and to add to your own plants I want lists.

Artichoke Cardoon
Allium schoenoprasum
Aquilegia "Ruby Port"
Aquilegia alpina
Astrantia "Buckland"
Cirsium rivulare "Atropurpureum"
Euphorbia palustris
Phlomis "Amazone"
Salvia "Caradonna"
Sanguisorba menziesii
Tellima grandiflora
Geum rivale
Libertia grandiflora
Allium "Purple Sensation"
Astrantia "Claret"
Antrhriscus sylvestris "Ravenswing"
Digitalis "Albiflora"
Stipa tenuissima
Geranium phaeum "Samobor"
Ferns (polystichum & asplenium)
Foeniculum vulgare "Atropurpureum"
Stipa gigantea

Aquatic plants
Equisetum (dark)
Zantedeschia (mixed)