RHS Malvern Spring Festival has announced it will debut two brand-new features at Three Counties Showground this May – Blooming Borders and Floral Tablescaping.
RHS Malvern Spring Festival is set to kick off the RHS Floral programme for 2026 when it returns to Three Counties Showground in Malvern from 7 – 10 May 2026. With a reputation for highlighting new horticultural trends and innovations, the 2026 festival will debut two brand-new features and offer an exciting programme carefully curated to celebrate its 2026 theme: Roots of the Future – Honour the past, grow the future.
The 2026 festival looks to celebrate both the rich traditions of gardening and horticulture, passed on over hundreds of years, whilst encouraging and inspiring the next generation into horticulture and welcoming essential innovations, such as climate-resilient design, biodiversity and soil health. The festival will welcome back familiar faces from the horticultural world, as well as new ones, to share their experience and gardening traditions and discuss how modern innovations can work alongside traditions to honour the past, while growing the future.
The RHS Malvern Spring Festival School Garden Challenge, which returns in 2026, encourages young people from the surrounding counties to engage in horticulture by designing and creating their very own gardens at the show, and is one of many ways that the festival aims to inspire younger generations into horticulture. This year’s School Garden theme is Myths & Legends and will see primary and secondary aged children from across the surrounding counties creatively incorporating mythology, folklore and mythical creatures into their imaginative gardens.
In addition to hosting the very first RHS-judged show gardens and indoor plant gardens of 2026, this year’s Festival will showcase a new feature garden, designed by Cheltenham-based Martyn Wilson, highlighting the (perhaps somewhat unknown or surprising) benefits of clay – the ‘super soil’. Clay soil is thought to account for around 25% of all British soils, especially across the south and east of England. While clay soils may be heavy, they are a powerhouse when it comes to holding nutrients, and many plant species thrive in them. Martyn’s feature will shine a light on some of the best performers for clay-rich soil types. With improvement, such as digging in generous amounts of bulky organic matter like composted bark, clay soils can support an even wider range of plants. These additions help loosen the structure, improve drainage, and turn dense clay into a richly productive growing medium. Martyn’s garden will be both visually inspiring in its design and usability, as well as offering practical inspiration and advice about using clay soil as an advantage.
A brand-new category, Blooming Borders, will make its debut at RHS Malvern Spring Festival in 2026, offering experienced and emerging garden designers the chance to express their creativity and skill in a new way. Each garden border will be designed with a unique theme and offers visitors inspiration for their own outdoor spaces. The RHS judges will delve into every detail of each design, seeking exceptional planting schemes, outstanding plant quality and imaginative, impactful ideas. Every border will be in the running for a prestigious RHS medal.
Another brand-new feature at this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival is Floral Tablescaping. This imaginative new feature (never seen before at an RHS Show) celebrates the simple pleasure of flowers at a table and offers visitors exciting new ideas to inspire their own home. Five garden sheds will be individually styled by talented floral designers to transform the most ordinary and familiar of spaces into something unique and extraordinary. Each shed will feature a stunning tablescape, using both fresh and dried flowers, foliage, plants and botanicals that tell a story or evoke certain feelings and emotions. Each tablescape will be carefully considered by RHS judges, who will administer the very first RHS Floral Tablescaping award. This fun, creative feature is another example of how gardening and horticulture can be accessible to those without outdoor spaces and enjoyed throughout the seasons (whatever the weather).
The Festival of Houseplants will return in 2026, offering the opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in a treasure trove of indoor plants and discover how easily accessible, affordable, enjoyable, sustainable and beneficial they can be. From the creatively designed and RHS-judged Indoor Plant Gardens, to interactive experiences and innovative workshops, as well as a wide range of houseplants, rare specimens and stylish interior accessories to browse and purchase, the Festival of Houseplants is a haven for interior design and indoor gardening.
Additionally, RHS Malvern Spring Festival will host over 70 of the UK’s top nurseries (more than in previous years) in its vast Floral Marquee, as well as an outstanding line-up of expert horticulturalists, TV gardening personalities and special guest speakers (details announced soon), and a whole host of shopping opportunities, food and drink, and family friendly activities to enjoy. For further information and full line up details, see https://www.rhsmalvern.co.uk/
Tickets for the RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2026 start from just £16 for a taster ticket (under 16s free of charge) and can be bought now from https://www.rhsmalvern.co.uk/
Source Rachel Thompson, encore PR
