Malvern’s Anniversary Show Scales New Heights

The blustery winds and grey skies on Saturday 8 May saw fewer visitors coming through the gates on this day, resulting in a total show footfall of 85,000, compared to 92,000 in 2009.

Yet organizers, the Three Counties Agricultural Society and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), were today celebrating a very definite improvement in standards event-wide, in spite of an unusually cold Spring.

Amongst the 22 show gardens at Malvern this year, two received RHS Gold medals, and there were 5 Silver-Gilt awards, 11 Silver awards and only 4 Bronze awards.

The Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s ‘Recovery & Wellbeing Garden’ – a productive cottage-style garden designed by Mark Eveleigh - was described as “perfect, convincing and awe-inspiring” by RHS Chairman of the Shows Advisory Committee, Dougal Philip.

Mark Draper’s garden, ‘The Youth of Old Age’, for Stroud-based Graduate Gardeners Ltd, also won an RHS Gold medal, and ‘Best In Show’, and Gloucestershire’s Jonathan Bishop’s unique Hansel & Gretel Fairy Tale Garden won the overall People’s Choice award.

The shift in standards was reflected in the Malvern Floral Marquee medal results too, where there were 37 Gold medals, 42 Silver Gilts, 22 Silvers and 9 Bronzes.

Bob Sweet, Head of RHS Shows Development said that the cold Spring had made the judges’ meeting much more controversial than usual, as some of the exhibits were not as far advanced as they would have expected them to be, but he praised Malvern for consistently improving standards.

The Lyn Downes Award for the Best Floral Marquee Exhibit went to Ian Butterfield of Buckinghamshire for his display of pleiones, and Most Creative Exhibit went to Hoyland Plant Centre from South Yorkshire, for their display of agapanthus and tulbaghia. Grange Farm Nurseries of Malvern, won the overall People’s Choice Award.

Winner of the 2010 Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship, sponsored by Bradstone, was Spanish-born Maria Luisa Medina, who achieved an RHS Bronze medal for her garden, ‘Water Pirouetting for a Colourful Audience’, and beat six other candidates to win a year-long scholarship with the award-winning garden designer and writer.

There were 3 Highly Commended awards, 2 Commended awards and 3 Credits in the School Gardens section, with Best School Garden going to Bromsgrove’s Parkside Middle School.

‘The Time Machine’ garden, by post-16 students from Holme Lacy College, Hereford, won the overall People’s Choice award.

Exhibitors reported excellent business in spite of the downturn on Saturday. Jekka McVicar of Jekka’s Herb Farm said: “I have been exhibiting at Malvern for many years now, and always do well, but this year has been the best ever for business!”

Best Tradestand award went to Pershore College, who also achieved a Gold Medal. Gold medals in the Plant Pavilions were awarded to Jekka’s Herb Farm, Bristol, and Hampshire’s Solva Plants.

The Malvern Spring Gardening Show is the only RHS show to boast an open gardening section, and entries were up this year by a staggering 128, bringing the total number of entries to 499.

In the Floral Art, Mr. Arnaud Metairie won Best In Show and Mrs Yukari Johnson won Best Novice.

The anniversary show was honoured by a visit from HRH The Princess Royal, who spent two hours chatting to exhibitors, designers and staff and toured the Malvern Floral Marquee, the Show Gardens Arena, the Eco Homes & Garden area and the Floral Art Hall.

Her Royal Highness was at the Showground in 1986, the year of the very first Malvern Spring Gardening Show, to open the Society’s Severn Hall.

Next year’s Malvern Spring Gardening Show runs from Thursday 12 May, through to Sunday 15 May 2011.